SALAD
ORIGINS
With still rather uncertain origins (it appears to come from Siberia), salad greens as recalled by Pliny and Columella were known and cultivated even by the Romans, who found it rather insipid and preferred to eat it together with aromatic rocket salad.

SALAD CULTIVATION
Production of salad in Italy is around 700,000 tons, almost 70% of which is grown in five regions alone: Apulia (25%), Campania (15%), Sicily (10%), Latium (9%) and Abruzzo (7%). Other fairly important areas of production include Piedmont (which offers 5.5% of the domestic harvest), Emilia-Romagna (5%) and Venetia (4%).
Salad greens include a number of varieties of lettuce and endive. Grown mainly to produce leaves to be eaten fresh or, more rarely, cooked, lettuce has leaves of various shape, thickness and consistency depending on the variety; its color ranges from pale green to dark green, to reddish brown.
The many varieties of endive are appreciated for the flavor of the leaf and the base of the main rib, especially tasty and crisp.

THE SALAD CALENDAR

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CONSUMPTION AND STORAGE
Salad greens are rich with water, vitamins, minerals and cellulose, and help fight constipation and irritation of the intestinal mucous membranes.
This vegetable also contributes to proper functioning by the nervous system, and has refreshing, emollient and purifying qualities.
In cosmetics, its juice is used as an ingredient for preparations that decongest sensitive, irritated skin and for cleansing oily skin.
Salad greens may be used in the kitchen, together with other vegetables, to make flavorful one-dish meals or as a side dish for grilled meat or roast fish.
It may be kept for 15-20 days at a temperature of 0° and a relative humidity of 90%.


NUTRITIONAL AND ENERGY INFORMATION FOR SALAD
(100 grams of product)

Edible part 80-90 % Water 93-95 g Proteins 1.5 g Lipids 0.3 g Glucides 2.5 g Fiber 1.5 g Energy 15/18 kcal

Sodium 0-9 mg Potassium 0-240 mg Iron 1-1.2 mg Calcium 45-50 mg Phosphorus 24-30 mg Niacin 0.5 mg Vitamin C 6-60 mg

Source: National Nutrition Institute

RECIPE

Lettuce Risotto

Ingredients for 6 people: 500 g lettuce, 250 g rice, 1 onion, olive oil, 1 glass dry white wine, one cup stock, a handful of pine nuts and Parmesan cheese

Wash the lettuce carefully, cut into strips and sauté in the extra-virgin olive oil together with the chopped onion. Add rice, stir and simmer; then add the whine. Continue stirring while cooking. If the rice dries out, add a bit of broth at a time. When rice is cooked, add the pine nuts, grated Parmesan and a touch of extra-virgin olive oil. Mix well and serve.

LETTUCE
With still rather uncertain origins (it appears to come from Siberia), lettuce (Lactuca scarola) is the most important species in the group of so-called salad greens.
An annual plant belonging to the Composite family, lettuce has a surface root apparatus, with a short, meaty stalk into which the leaves are inserted.
When passing on to the reproductive stage, the stalk lengthens, forming a branching shaft that may reach a height of between 60 and 130 centimeters. The branches of the flowering shaft terminate with capitula of 15-25 yellow flowers.
The climate needs of lettuce are strictly linked to the specific variety: some adapt better to winter temperatures (such as head lettuces, like Trocadero and Iceberg); others can achieve commercial ripeness even in the summer (such as certain types of Romaine lettuce).
This vegetable species has no particular soil needs, and adapts well to both sandy and clay-based terrain.

VARIETIES OF LETTUCE The numerous varieties of lettuce are differentiated by various characteristics including shape, color, and leaf arrangement, as well as the appearance of the heart.
Lettuce crops may thus be divided into various sub-species:

• Lactuca sub. capitata, which includes the various head-lettuce varieties (Trocadero and Iceberg) with round, more or less compact hearts and smooth leaves;
• Lactuca sub. crispa, which includes head-lettuce varieties with rounded, thick, and highly textured leaves;
• Lactuca sub. longifoglia, including the so-called Romaine or rib lettuces, with elongated leaves and an oblong, voluminous head;
• Lactuca sub. secalina, which includes all upright varieties having leaves with wavy or curly edges.

According to some, the cut lettuces belong to the sub-species Lactuca sub. acephala. This group also includes varieties such as Trentina, Common, Green Curly, Blonde Curly, Spinach and American curly lettuce.
For head lettuces, the most widespread varieties are Four-Season Marvel, May Queen, Gold Drop, Blonde Parisian Batavia, Augusta, Appia, Aurelia, Trocadero, Berlin Blonde, Winter Brown and Red.
The romaine lettuce group includes varieties such as Marvel, Farmers' Blonde, Farmers' Green, Bovarind Roll, Giant White, Giant Red, Giant Green and Winter White.
Within each sub-species, the individual varieties are then classified based on their growing season: spring, summer-fall and winter.
The aspects to take into consideration for ideal cultivation and sale of lettuce are as follows:

• Green or light green leaves
• Ripening speed of the head, which must be full, highly even and large-gauged, resistant to handling;
• Resistance to low temperatures for winter varieties;
• Resistance to salt levels and atmospheric pollution;
• Resistance to illness, especially Peronospora, Mosaic virus and root aphids.

THE CALENDAR FOR LETTUCE VARIETIES

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NUTRITIONAL AND ENERGY INFORMATION FOR LETTUCE
(100 grams of product)

Edible part 80 % Water 94.3 g Proteins 1.8 g Lipids 0.4 g Glucides 2.2 g Fiber 1.5 g Energy 19 kcal

Sodium 9 mg Potassium 240 mg Iron 0.8 mg Calcium 41 mg Phosphorus 31 mg Niacin 0.7 mg Vitamin C 6 mg

Source: National Nutrition Institute


NUTRITIONAL AND ENERGY INFORMATION FOR HEAD LETTUCE
(100 grams of product)

Edible part 92 % Water 92.2 g Proteins 1.5 g Lipids 0.2 g Glucides 3 g Fiber 1.3 g Energy 19 kcal

Sodium 0 mg Potassium 0 mg Iron 1.2 mg Calcium 53 mg Phosphorus 25 mg Niacin 0.3 mg Vitamin C 27 mg

Source: National Nutrition Institute


NUTRITIONAL AND ENERGY INFORMATION FOR CUT LETTUCE
(100 grams of product)

Edible part 83 % Water 95.6 g Proteins 1.1 g Lipids 0.1 g Glucides 2.2 g Fiber 0 g Energy 14 kcal

Sodium 0 mg Potassium 0 mg Iron 0.9 mg Calcium 46 mg Phosphorus 22 mg Niacin 0.4 mg Vitamin C 59 mg

Source: National Nutrition Institute

ENDIVE
A member of the Composite family, endive (Cichorium endivia) is divided into two sub-species: C. endivia crispum, which includes endive, also known as curly chicory, and C. endivia latifolium, commonly known as escarole.
Endive can be distinguished by the characteristic foliage lamina, divided in depth and heavily crinkled, while escarole have a full, broad foliage lamina.
A biennial plant, it has a tap-root and flowers at the tip with tiny white or blue flowers.
As a crop it requires cool, deep, soft soil with a pH close to neutral, rich with organic substance.
The many varieties grown are differentiated based on the size of the head, their precocity and roughness.

VARIETIES OF ENDIVE For endive, we not the Pancalieri Grossa or Grossissima (with a large head, precocious) and Rufec Endive (with a tight head, lacy leaves and one of the varieties most resistant to cold; Yellow-heart summer endive (in the form of a closed ball), S. Laurent (also in the form of a closed ball), and Meaux Curly (rough, resistant to heat) among the summer-autumn varieties.
The most widespread varieties of escarole are Farmer's Giant (with a large, compact head and broad leaves), Florentine (with broad leaves and a compact head), Cornet Escarole (the leaves fold back over the ribs in the shape of a cornet) among the autumn-winter varieties; Blonde full heart among the summer varieties (thus named for its blonde leaves; precocious with an expanded head).

THE CALENDAR FOR ENDIVE VARIETIES

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Market presence

NUTRITIONAL AND ENERGY INFORMATION FOR ENDIVE
(100 grams of product)

Edible part 69 % Water 93 g Proteins 0.9 g Lipids 0.3 g Glucides 2.7 g Fiber 1.6 g Energy 16 kcal

Sodium 10 mg Potassium 380 mg Iron 1.7 mg Calcium 93 mg Phosphorus 31 mg Niacin 0.5 mg Vitamin C 35 mg

Source: National Nutrition Institute

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