What Types of Lettuce Are There?

In the broadest sense, the term salad includes all plants that can be marinated and processed into a raw food dish. A wide range of different types of lettuce, which are characterized by different properties, are suitable for this.

The most popular types of lettuce include:

• Chicory: This type of lettuce is characterized by elongated pale yellow ears and a characteristic bitter taste. It is available all year round. Chicory is often used in salads in combination with nuts or fruit, but it can also be steamed, roasted, or baked.
• Iceberg lettuce: Because of its mild, neutral flavor and crunchy texture, iceberg lettuce makes a good addition to sandwiches and burgers, or to picnic salads that don’t crumble easily. The lettuce, which comes from the USA, is in season in Germany from May to October, but there is also a small supply from domestic cultivation in November. However, it is available all year round as an import, mostly from Spain.
• Endive: The endive lettuce or frisée lettuce, which originated in the Mediterranean region, has light green, curly leaves. This type of salad is usually combined with savory ingredients such as cheese or bacon, but it also goes well with fruity flavors. Endives are in season between May and November.
• Lamb’s lettuce: Typical of the lamb’s lettuce, also known as Rapunzel, are its small green leaves and the spicy-piquant, slightly nutty taste. This salad goes particularly well with nuts, bacon and smoked meat, apples, or pears. Lamb’s lettuce is in season during the cold season between October and January, but is now also available all year round.
• Lettuce: The most eaten type of lettuce in Central and Southern Europe. It is popular because of its “buttery” consistency and its fine, spicy taste. Fresh from the field, lettuce is in season throughout the summer from May, and it’s available all year round from the greenhouse. It is mostly used as the basis for mixed salads.
• Lollo Rosso: This Italian variety of lettuce is characterized by its curly green-purple leaves. The green, light variant is known as Lollo Bionda. The decorative lettuce is in season between April and November and is used for mixed salads or as a decoration for cheese platters and buffets.
• Purslane: This somewhat forgotten variety of lettuce is a plant with rather small, fleshy green leaves. Purslane tastes slightly sour and, thanks to greenhouse cultivation, is in season all year round. It tastes good raw in salads and dips and can be cooked like spinach.
• Radicchio: Related to endive and chicory, radicchio is easily recognized by its striking purple colour. Originally from Italy, local radicchio is in season from June to November, and it is also available as an import throughout the year. Radicchio is suitable as an ingredient for mixed salads, but it also tastes good when cut into thin strips and spread over pasta and risotto dishes as a seasoning garnish just before serving.
• Romaine lettuce: The romaine lettuce, also known as romaine lettuce, comes from the Mediterranean region and is characterized by large, curly leaves with a pronounced central rib. It serves as an ingredient for the famous American Cesar’s Salad.
• Arugula: Also known as rocket, the pinnate-leaved herb is often used as an ingredient in salads or as an addition to sandwiches or pasta dishes. Arugula tastes strong and spicy and is in season from April to November. Rocket has become increasingly popular in recent years so that demand in the winter months is mostly covered by imports from Italy.