Marketing calendar – salad stuffs and cabbages

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The exact origin of salad stuffs is not known. However, they have been grown for many years and there are written records that show that the Romans knew of different varieties of them. Lettuces contain very few calories since they have a very high water content, very low carbohydrate content and a negligible protein and fat content. They do however contain vitamins, particularly folates, provitamin A (beta-carotene) and vitamins C and E.
Salad stuffs		 
Escarola    This is the typical winter salad leaf. It has serrated leaves, with green outer leaves and a yellow heart. It has a distinctive bitter flavour and combines well with other lettuces. We market two types of endive: escarole (flat-leaved) and frisée (curly-leaved).
Endive		                                               
Lechuga little gem    A dwarf variety of lettuce, with green outer leaves and a sweet, crunchy, yellow heart.
Little Gem		                                               
Lechuga romana    This is the most common lettuce in Spain. It has a narrow, elongated, upright stem and dark green leaves which sit relatively loosely around the trunk and do not form a true heart.
Maturity is based on the number of leaves and the size of the head. A loose, floppy head is immature while a very firm or hard head is over-mature. If the outer leaves are taken off so only the inner, light green leaves are left, these are known as Romaine hearts.
Romaine lettuce		                                               
Mini romana     The dwarf variety of the Romaine lettuce, the Mini Romaine is around 20 cm long and is halfway between the traditional lettuce and the Little Gem.
The stem of this annual plant is disc-shaped at its base. The leaves grow from this stem, forming rosettes which in turn form hearts. They are small lettuces whose head is similar in shape to cabbages. The most common variety is the Tudela. Baby mini romaine lettuces form extremely compact hearts.
Mini Romaine		                                               
Lechuga Iceberg    Perhaps one of the most popular varieties, this head lettuce is similar in shape to the head cabbage and has light green, tightly-packed, crunchy leaves.
Iceberg		                                               
 
Cabbage is thought to have originated in a wild form in the Mediterranean region and has been grown since ancient times. It was very popular with the Greeks and the Romans and over the years it spread throughout Europe. These days, it is Germanic people who eat it most.
Cabbages		 
Repollo    Large heads of smooth, shiny, tightly packed leaves. Varieties range in colour from white to reddish purple (red cabbage).
Head cabbage		                                               
Brócoli    
This is a variety of cabbage. It was very popular with the Greeks and the Romans, but it is thought that prehistoric man also knew of its virtues, and held it in great esteem for its nutritional and medicinal values due to its therapeutic properties (it acts as an astringent or as a laxative depending on how long it is cooked). Cabbage is used throughout Europe although it has always been most popular in Germany.
The edible part of this vegetable is made up of dark bluish-green clusters. It is characterised by its small florets and tender, compact stalks.
Broccoli		                                               
Coliflor    The cauliflower is easily recognisable by its large head, which is made up of stems with fleshy white florets of varying degrees of compactness.
Cauliflower		                                               
Col china   
Chinese cabbage is different to European cabbages and looks more like a Romaine lettuce with its long ribs.
Chinese cabbage		                                               
Romanesco     This is a hybrid of cauliflower and broccoli. It has a main head covered in other small, pointed, pyramid-shaped heads.
Romanesco cauliflower		                                               
Col rizada   This annual plant has an elongated, firm, woody stem. Its green, curly leaves are more or less oval in the centre and curly around the edges. The edible part of the plant is the leaves.
This cabbage provides very few calories as it contains mostly water, with small quantities of carbohydrates and proteins. However, it is rich in vitamins, mineral salts and fibre. It provides more nutrients than any other vegetable. It contains vitamins A and C and provitamin A (beta-carotene).
Savoy cabbage		                                               
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