Iceberg: More accurately called crisphead, this familiar pale green lettuce forms a tight, cabbage-like head. Its texture is crisp and its flavor very mild. Although it is not the nutritional powerhouse that other, darker-green lettuces are, it is actually not as nutrition-free as most people assume. Two cups of iceberg lettuce provide a respectable amount of folate (folic acid), providing 35% of the Daily Value for this important vitamin. There are also few substitutes in the lettuce world when you want a very crisp lettuce, as for chopped salads.

Romaine: Also called cos, this lettuce has long, deep green leaves that form a loaf-shaped head. Some varieties develop a closed head, others are more open. Romaine, the main ingredient in Caesar salads, has a crisp texture and an assertive, but not bitter, taste.

Loose Leaf: This type of lettuce comprises a number of varieties that don't form heads, but consist of large, loosely packed leaves joined at a stem. The leaves are either green or shaded to deep red at the edges, and may be ruffled or smooth. Their degree of crispness is midway between romaine and butterhead, their taste is mild and delicate.

Endive: This relative of the chicory family has a bunchy head with frilly leaves. The pale leaves from the center are mild, while the outer green leaves are slightly bitter. Curly endive is available year-round, with its peak season from June through October. Curly endive should be selected for their fresh, crisp texture; avoid heads with discoloration or insect damage. Store tightly wrapped in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Curly endive is a popular salad ingredient.

Escarole: Sometimes marketed as Batavian endive, this popular salad ingredient is a broad-leafed cousin of curly endive. Look for crisp, green heads. Escarole is available year-round, with its peak season from June through October. Store escarole, tightly wrapped, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Escarole is used mainly in salads, but can also be briefly cooked and eaten as a vegetable or in soups.

Care and Handling

Availability - Green Giant® Fresh Leaf Lettuce is available year round.

Selection - Try to choose lettuce with healthy outer leaves; these are likely to be the most nutritious part of the green, containing much more beta-carotene and vitamin C than the pale inner leaves. Unfortunately, the outer leaves are usually the most damaged part of the head, but from a nutritional standpoint, it's best to salvage as many as you can.

Storage - Most lettuces and other greens keep best in a plastic bag in the refrigerator crisper. Soft-leaved lettuces do not keep as well as firm greens, such as romaine or iceberg lettuce: Iceberg should keep for up to two weeks, romaine for about 10 days, and butterhead and leaf lettuces for about four days.

Preparation - Leaf Lettuce must be washed--and in some cases trimmed--before you put them in the salad bowl.

Since grit tends to collect at the stem end of looser-headed greens, it's important to twist off the stem and separate the leaves before washing them. (If you're not using the entire lettuce at one meal, just remove as many leaves as you need from the stem.)

A salad spinner greatly simplifies the preparation of greens by drying them quickly and thoroughly. Dry leaves are a must if the dressing is to adhere properly.

Cooking - Consider cooking endive and escarole into soups and stir-fries, use lettuce and loose leaf for wraps, or chop romaine into your favorite salads.

Freezing - Endive and escarole do not freeze well, but can be preserved by blanching 1 - 3 minutes followed by submersion in ice water prior to freezing. Lettuce is too delicate to be frozen.