Romaine lettuce
Lactuca sativa var. longifolia · Leafy green
Top 10 pairings
Romaine — known in Britain and much of the Commonwealth as cos lettuce — is the tall, upright salad lettuce: a long, narrow, elongated head of sturdy dark-green leaves built around a broad, pale, crunchy central rib. Where the soft butterheads and loose-leaf types collapse the moment they are dressed, romaine stays crisp, sweet and robust, with a juicy snap to the spine and a faint, clean bitterness to the blade. It is the backbone of the Caesar salad and the one lettuce sturdy enough to be split, grilled and served warm.
Picking a good onedrag
Crisp and squeakyLimp and slimy
SofteningStill fine rawDressed salads, sandwiches, tacos
Cut coreRim tanned, sap dried
Rib snapBends a little, then snaps
Leaf colourGreen, outer leaves dulling
SmellGrassy and neutral
These cues are Lettuce's, and hold across its varieties; where this one differs, its own page says so.
What you get from one
95%
Edible part
539 g · core out
567 g
Weight each
each one
Keeping ittap a temperature
A domestic fridge holds it about 5× longer than the counter.
95–100% — as damp as you can get it
Humidity
Wrapped, never sealed
Airflow