Surprising Facts About Common Foods, Introductions to New Things to Eat

...and food related trivia that we just have to share!
from the Stone Soup Collaborative Farmers, Argyle and Corinth, ME

Did you know...

A little about LETTUCE:

• Lettuce originated in the Mediterranean area.
• Lettuce has been grown for more than 2500 years.
• The Romans usually ate lettuce cooked.
• Lettuce was introduced in France in middle ages, supposedly when the Popes of the Roman Catholic Church temporarily moved from Rome to Avignon.
• Chevalier D’Albignac a noble Frenchman migrated to England, where he introduced raw lettuce with vinaigrette. It proved to be a great success. He made his fortune by visiting various private hotels and fashionable restaurants to dress the salads.
• The Yazidi, a Kurdish tribe of northern Iraq, consider eating lettuce taboo.
• There are six basic types of lettuce: butterhead, Chinese, iceberg, looseleaf, romaine and Batavian.
  
  • Butterhead lettuce forms a loose head and has a buttery taste.
  • Chinese lettuce types generally have long, sword-shaped,
    non-head-forming leaves, with a bitter and robust flavour and are eaten cooked in stir-fried dishes and stews.
  • Iceberg is known for its crunchy leaves and mild taste.
  • Looseleaf lettuce has mildly flavored leaves.
  • Romaine, also called Cos is a head-forming type of lettuce with elongated leaves.
  • Batavian forms a dense head and the leaves have a crunchy texture.
• Lettuce is mostly made up of water. It also contains nutrients such as antioxidants, vitamin C, potassium and fiber.
• Leaf lettuce is low in sodium and high in vitamin A.
• The most nutrition is found in the dark green leaves of lettuce. The dark leaves contain beta carotene as well as phytochemicals such as flavonoids.

Can you match the picture with the type of lettuce?

Click and drag the variety name box to a picture. If your match is correct, the background of the name box will turn GREEN.