Store these heads loosely wrapped in a plastic bag or stored in a covered container in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it. When storing, add paper towels to the plastic bag to keep lettuce fresher longer. Do not store near ethylene-producing fruits, like apples or bananas, to avoid rapid decay.
We grow many varieties of head lettuce here at Harmony Valley Farm, each of them with their own special flair to keep things interesting and diverse. Depending on the variety, we grow head lettuce in spring, and again in the fall.
Boston: Boston lettuce is a type of butterhead lettuce. It has large, thick, tender leaves that are gently cupped, which makes them a great choice to use as lettuce wraps. This lettuce grows in loose heads, which gives them a very different look from iceberg. The color of the leaves are more uniform than iceberg and romaine as well. We grow both red and green Boston lettuce.
Iceberg: Iceberg lettuce is probably what comes to mind for most people when the term “head lettuce” comes up. This classic lettuce grows in a head that resembles cabbage, with green leaves on the outside, and white leaves closer to the core. Iceberg lettuce is mostly water, like cucumbers, and is a great food to keep you hydrated in the summer. It has a long growing season, so we plant this lettuce early in the spring for harvest at the beginning of summer. Iceberg lettuce is also valued for its longer-than-other-lettuce’s ability to keep in storage.
Mini Romaine: We grow both mini red romaine and mini green romaine. Both lettuce varieties are mature and full size when they are just 6-8 inches tall. Their compact little heads weigh about half a pound each—pretty dense for their size. You can get 2-3 servings from each head. We grow this lettuce in the spring.
Summer Crisp: Summer Crisp lettuce, also known as Batavia, has a similar texture to romaine lettuce. However, it lacks the bitterness romaine has, leaving it sweet and juicy. The heads start out similarly to a leaf lettuce, which is loose and open, but do mature into a more compact head. This lettuce also comes in a variety of colors, and we grow both red and green varieties as well. Summer Crips also holds up well in the heat of summer, so we are able to plant this variety a little later in our season. Something interesting about Summer Crisp lettuce is that you can harvest the leaves and the head will continue to grow—this means you can harvest it several times throughout the season, or just once for a nice head of lettuce.
When you are ready to use your head lettuce, cut out the base of the stalk and pull off the leaves. Gently swish around in a bowl of water to loosen any dirt, especially the lower part of the leaves near the base. Put the washed leaves in a wire basket or colander, hold it by the handle and shake vigorously over the sink so the water is spun out. If you do not have a basket, you can wrap the lettuce in a clean cloth and blot out the water, a salad spinner also works well and is relatively inexpensive.
Fans of head lettuce love it for its crunch and cool, crisp flavor. The whole leaves make for a beautiful presentation on a plate for a simple plated salad dressed with thin slices of radishes, sugar snap peas, roasted asparagus or wedges of salad turnips and a light vinaigrette. We’ve used these small cupped leaves to hold fillings for “tacos” or to do cold “wraps” filled with grains, meat, raw veggies and a dipping sauce.
Boston: As mentioned above, Boston lettuce is an excellent choice to use as a lettuce wrap. In a salad, Boston lettuce’s sweeter taste pairs well with fruit dressings or vinaigrettes, as well as tomatoes and carrots.
Iceberg: The classic preparation for this type of lettuce is the wedge salad. It also does well in sandwiches, adding a satisfying crunch without adding a lot of calories. Looking for something different to do with this lettuce? Try a quick stir fry with scallions and garlic like the Cantonese do for the Chinese New Year! Or, try pickling it before adding it to your sandwiches.
Mini Romaine: Of course you can’t go wrong with a classic Caesar salad and these little lettuces can hold up to sturdier dressings such as creamy blue cheese or Thousand Island. If you really want to let the flavor of the lettuce come through, simply dress it with a light vinaigrette or a squeeze of lemon and a drizzle of oil. These lettuces are also delicious slightly grilled. Simply cut the head in half and brush the cut side lightly with oil. Place on a preheated grill for a few minutes—just long enough to get grill marks. Drizzle with a light vinaigrette and serve with grilled meats, grilled asparagus, and other spring veggies.
Summer Crisp: Oily dressing work well with this lettuce.
Growing Information: Growing lettuce can be tricky. Lettuce seeds are very sensitive to temperature and light. If the soil is too hot or too cold, the seed will go dormant. In the spring, we start our lettuce seeds in the greenhouse and transplant them. Fall lettuces are a little more challenging to grow because the seed is planted during the warmer months of the summer. We plant seed directly in the field for fall, but the conditions need to be just right—sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. We cover our bases by attempting a transplanted crop too, which is also a little tricky. We put the seeds in flats, put them on a rack and wrap them with a tarp to hold moisture and keep them in a dark environment. Within 2-3 days we unwrap them and hopefully find little sprouts pushing through the soil! Once lettuce is growing, it can be sensitive to hot temperatures which can make it bitter. Too much moisture can also turn a lettuce head from beautiful to not so beautiful in a short period of time. So why do we grow lettuce? Because when it works it is gorgeous and delicious…and we’re suckers for a challenge!
Additional Fun Facts: Compared to other head lettuce varieties, we find the varieties we grow actually have flavor and often have a slight sweetness to them! So sweet that we have to fence them along with fennel and dandelion to keep the deer from turning the field into an outdoor salad bar!
