What is the actual purpose of iceberg lettuce?

[u4ic]

Is it supposed to be the "Air Supply" of the vegetable kingdom? :shrug:



"I'm all out of taste...lalala la la la...."

[Maddy McCall]

1. Roughage?

I don't know what roughage is, but it sounds about right.

[Dora]

10. I know what roughage is, and iceberg aint it. n/t

[Left Is Write]

12. Roughage is what we used to call dietary fiber.

Iceberg has about the same amount of fiber per serving as Romaine lettuce, but the Romaine is still a better value nutritionally because it has a lot more Vitamin A.

[u4ic]

22. I think it's the closest thing to water without

actually being water.

With the exception that water has more flavour...

[trof]

35. 'Roughage' = brocolli = 'Nature's Broom'

That's what my momma said.
And she KNEW.

[Critters2]

2. I don't know, but I can't eat those salads that are just lettuce, a few pieces of red cabbage

and dressing. But when you're veg*n, that's what people think makes a good meal for you. I don't eat meat, I don't lettuce. Sometimes I get very hungry.

[Chan790]

7. Me too...

Doesn't it piss you off when people assume that you'll just get the side salad so they can go anywhere for dinner and you'll be happy.

My co-workers and friends when I was living in DC: "Let's go to Steak and Egg (or Malibu Grill or generic bloody steak and BBQ buffet.)"
Me: "I'm a veggie."
Them: "Oh...they have a side salad."
Me: "Oooooh. Maybe we can go to the macrobiotic raw food vegetarian restaurant."
Them: blank stares.
Me: "What?! They have apple slices. You eat apples."

The point never really did sink in either.

[u4ic]

23. I don't find iceberg lettuce

fills me up at all, either. Romaine will do in a pinch, but I prefer the baby spring greens mix. Half my diet seems to be made up of the latter.

You don't eat any lettuce, or just not iceberg?

[Critters2]

28. I prefer Romaine over iceberg, but I get tired of people thinking lettuce is a meal.

No flavor, no calories, it's like eating paper. Yum!

[skygazer]

3. It has a longer shelf life than leaf lettuce

So what if it has no taste or nutritional value? It has staying power.

[u4ic]

26. It definitely benefits business

more than us.

[Chan790]

4. In culinary terms

it's food filler. Adds volume and texture without taste...ergo it can be used to make a wimpy burger or sandwich look huge, make a small salad larger, or stretch a meal without adding a significant # of calories.

[u4ic]

29. And without adding taste

Food without taste is just...wrong. :scared:

[LisaM]

5. It adds a nice, fresh crunch to sandwiches

and the stores CAN'T overwater it. I can't tell you how much leaf lettuce I've bought, just to have it disintegrate in the drawer within two days if I don't completely dry every leaf of it. Even then, they've usually watered it so much at the store that it's already begun to break down. This is less of a problem in the summer when I can get dry lettuce at a market, but in the winter, iceberg is the only kind that will keep for a reasonable length of time (I don't buy bagged lettuce).

[u4ic]

31. I buy the spring mix in the big tubs

and it keeps for a week. I reuse the tubs for when I bring home loose spring mix, or I recycle them.

I do agree that leaf lettuce doesn't last very long at all. :hi:

[LisaM]

58. I've never seen lettuce sold in tubs

Where do you get that?

I do use lettuce a lot for sandwiches, so prefer the bigger pieces you can get from leaf lettuce or iceberg over some of the spring mixes.

Overwatered produce at stores is a problem in general.

[u4ic]

65. A product of Earthbound Farm

I can find it in all grocery stores around here.

I agree, the mixed baby greens are definitely not sandwich filler material!

[graywarrior]

6. It's not even decorative. I hate it.

[u4ic]

32. Great minds think alike

:thumbsup:





...hold on...suddenly I'm finding guys wearing eyeliner very attractive...






:shrug:

[graywarrior]

53. Yes! Add eyeliner to iceberg, and maybe, just MAYBE, I'll give it a whirl.

[KamaAina]

8. It contains the "dark matter" that physicists have been seeking

in order to explain why the cosmos behaves as it does.

What other purpose could it possibly have?

[u4ic]

33. Dat's as good an answer as any...

:hi:

[Guava Jelly]

9. You are not nice!

Ok how about
Girl you're every woman in the world to me
http://youtube.com/watch?v=GFUhrH_SKYE

[u4ic]

34. Would you like some Air Supply on that burger, sir?

:P

[Guava Jelly]

51. How about some Goat cheese

;)

[Left Is Write]

11. I like it. I also like the more nutritious lettuces like Romaine and leaf lettuce,

but iceberg's fine too.

[u4ic]

36. Maybe I'm a lettuce snob!

:silly:

[Left Is Write]

39. Could be, but every once in a while a wedge of iceberg topped with homemade dressing

really hits the spot.

[wildhorses]

13. texture, if done right ...it has crispness that is hard to beat---n/t

[u4ic]

37. Potato chips might give it

a run for the money...:P

[wildhorses]

57. c'mon!! now we are comparing lettuce to potatoes

sorta like the apples and oranges thing, doncha think:P

;) :rofl: :hug: :hi:

[Deja Q]

14. It lacks nutrients, but bunny rabbits like to eat it... maybe eating it

boosts the sex drive?

Or maybe not, we all still have to pop viagra and herbal concoctions to sport our breeding... :puffpiece:

[u4ic]

38. I don't need a boost...

Nature gave me plenty. :7

[mitchum]

15. To convince fast food customers that they are eating a vegetable

I despise iceberg lettuce. No nutrients, no calories, no taste.

[jilln]

16. You're right. Like at salad bars, when people get a plate full of iceberg lettuce,

top it with cheese, bacon bits, croutons and a cup of ranch dressing and are proud of themselves for eating "a salad".

The funny thing is that most big salad bars use kale as decoration, when that is probably the most nutritious thing on the whole buffet.

[Left Is Write]

19. Probably...

Unfortunately, kale is pretty but not very good tasting. It's too bitter for me.

[jilln]

71. I got used to it.

If you use a sweet dressing, it's fine. Or cook it.

[u4ic]

40. Scary, isn't it?

One tomato, one piece of lettuce and all those potatoes ie fries. I've had my servings of vegetables today! :eyes:

[hedgehog]

17. It's to hold salad dressing made of guar gum and high fructose corn

syrup, US FDA #2 Red and FDA # 4 Yellow.

[u4ic]

41. aka Thousand Island?

:puke:

[ScreamingMeemie]

18. It is base, of course.

:hi:

[u4ic]

42. Of caahs is it, dahlink!

:hi:

[crim son]

20. I don't dislike it but neither do I serve it to my family.

As a kid I ate iceburg lettuce & mustard sandwiches and thought they were GREAT! :crazy:

[u4ic]

44. I had those, too!

except I'd also add some ham. :7

[SPKrazy]

21. Very Little Purpose For Humans I Guess

the air supply of the vegetable kingdom :rofl: that is hilarious!

not only out of taste, out of nutrients and out of any real value to people except maybe a little fiber...

[Left Is Write]

43. Not much fiber.

1 gram of dietary fiber per 89 gram serving.

[u4ic]

47. Boring, bland, not likely to cause much of a stir

:P

[Maineiac]

24. It's the blank canvas for other foods

It provides a bland contrast so that the taste of other foods can rise to the occasion.

[KitchenWitch]

25. I buy hearts of romaine...

Iceburg is pretty bland.

[u4ic]

49. I've gotten addicted to the baby spring greens

I still like the hearts of romaine, too.

I bet the cartons the iceburg lettuce is packed in has more flavour than the lettuce itself.

[Okiojira]

27. I've often wondered myself

I hate friggin' iceberg lettuce! Give me some color (nutrients) in my salad, please.

[u4ic]

50. I think we're twins!

Welcome to DU! :toast:

[SacredCow]

30. Quartered into a wedge.....

With FRESH bleu cheese dressing on it.

[u4ic]

54. Sounds good!

:hi:

[Crabby Appleton]

45. purpose is e coli delivery vehicle

[u4ic]

56. True...true..

:rofl:

[Breeze54]

46. It's crunchy !

I like it on turkey sandwiches and in salads with red onions and tomatoes.
Also adds a nice cool taste and crunch to taco's or burritos.

[Xipe Totec]

48. To crash into a Titanic diet and sink it

:yoiks:

[mentalsolstice]

52. It's the "L" in BLT n/t

[hippywife]

55. I don't mind it once in awhile.

It's cheap and keeps for awhile. It was all we could afford when I was a kid.

[BlueCollar]

59. provides a bed

in the bowl for my ceviche...

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

[Lisa]

60. To frustrate me. I've tried growing it in my garden ....

Either the heads don't develop properly, or someething comes along and nibbles them. Funny thing -- the leaf and even butterhead types are just fine.

I'm convinced that it's not actually grown, but cunningly pressed into shape in some factory.

[mcscajun]

61. To provide maximum crunch while adding minimum competing flavor.

BLT, Turkey Sandwich, Egg Salad; all benefit from Iceberg Lettuce.

If you want a real salad though, use anything BUT Iceberg. :) I prefer fresh Romaine in most salads.

[philosophie_en_rose]

62. cheap filler?

ice berg lettuce can fluff up a burrito or add filler to a salad.

but it's not very tasty, that's for sure.

[mainegreen]

63. cole slaw. n/t

[LynzM]

64. Easy shipping when they first invented refrigerated railroad cars

No joke. Also, no flavor, though sometimes I'm still in the mood for it over good, dark green/red stuff.

[grasswire]

66. it made a gourmet comeback a couple of years ago

I kid you not. It was featured in a couple of snooty magazines. Here's a message board where people praise it.

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/290443

[havocmom]

67. Helps the energy crisis, actually...

gives most people over 50 horrible gas x(

[grace0418]

68. It's worthless and tasteless.

There is no purpose nutritionally. The only thing is that it's cheap.

I definitely judge a restaurant by its lettuce. If I order a salad and it comes out with iceberg and a pale wedge of underripe tomato, that's MAJOR points off from me. Give me arugula, spinach, or mixed baby greens or don't bother.

[gravity]

69. It's the same with celery

It's all about the crunch

[Oeditpus Rex]

70. To bring riches to a select group of assholes in the Salinas Valley

Without iceberg lettuce, Salinas, where I lived for the first 42 years of my life, would be such an insignificant hamlet that the National Steinbeck Center would be in Monterey.

Which would be fine with me.

[Tektonik]

72. I used to hate iceberg as well

I mean it is utterly tasteless; however, eating a burger w/o it sucks because you lose the crunch of the watery tasteless pale leaves that most other lettuces couldn't come close to providing. I wouldn't eat iceberg in a salad, but in any sandwich or burger I use it.

[realisticphish]

73. To sink the Titanic

[El Fuego]

74. Crunchy-ness