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Leafy Vegetables. Introduction Salad vegetables are usually consumed raw (uncooked) and ______________with minimal preparation Lettuce Examples of other salad vegetables Arugula Endive ______________. Greens are consumed cooked Spinach _________________ Kale and Collards
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Leafy Vegetables Introduction • Salad vegetables are usually consumed raw (uncooked) and ______________with minimal preparation • Lettuce • Examples of other salad vegetables • Arugula • Endive • ______________
Greens are consumed cooked Spinach _________________ Kale and Collards General characteristics of leafy vegetables Biennials – live for two years _________________ season Shallow-rooted Respond to nitrogen fertilizer Leafy Vegetables
Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) • Background • Native to Europe and Asia • First used for edible oil in its seed • ________________ species are very bitter – needed to select for less bitter forms • Bitterness is associated with milky latex that occurs when ________________ bolts • What is bolting?
Lettuce • Bibb or butterhead • ___________ heads • Inner leaves are cream or yellow and ___________ • Delicate sweet flavor
Lettuce • Iceberg or __________________ • Most common type of lettuce in salad bars and fast food • Extremely sensitive to heat • Leaves are thin and crisps
Lettuce • ________ or Romaine • Upright head up to 10 inches tall • Forms an elongated ___________ • Leaves are crisper than other heading types • Used in Cesar and Cos salads
Lettuce • Leaf lettuce • Does not form a _______ • Widely adapted • Types can vary in leaf ______________, shape, and color • Can be harvested very young • Major component of mixed green salads
Lettuce: Culture • Temperature • Extremely sensitive to ___________ temperatures • High temperatures cause: • Seedstalk to form • Internal tip _______________ of crisphead types • Stunted growth • ____________ leaves • Moisture • Have a _________________ root system
Lettuce: Harvesting • Leaf lettuce • May be harvested when leaves are large enough to use • Butterhead and Cos types • Ready to harvest in ______ to ______ days • _____________________ types • Harvest when heads are firm and full
Other Salad Vegetables • Bitterness or _____________________ can be a problem • Ways to avoid: • Blanching • Using less pungent ____________________ • Harvest when temperatures are cool (i.e. fall)
Arugula or Roquette (Eruca vesicaria var. Sativa) • Has enjoyed a surge in popularity • Used in mixed salads or as a cooked green • Characteristics • ____________ season • Closely related to ____________ • Biting, pungent, spicy flavor similar to ___________________ • Too strong to be eaten alone
Endive (Cichorium endivia) • Background • Native to eastern portion of ________ and reached Mediterranean region by time of ancient Egyptians • Produce a blue flower
Endive • Characteristics • Endive • Loose, _______________, medium green, fringed, and curly leaves • Very pungent flavor • ____________________ (Batavian endive) • A selection of endive • Broad, thick, smooth leaves with a white midrib • Milder flavor than other endives • Cultivation • Similar to _______ with best growth at 60 to 70 F • Less pungent if grown in fall • Requires frequent watering
Endive • _____________________ • Growing a plant part in the absence of _________ • Makes the plant part less bitter • How is endive blanched? • Gather leaves together and tie them together • Inner leaves (hearts) become a __________ color • Harvesting • Entire ____________ cut at base when leaves are partly or wholly blanched • Outer leaves are tough and bitter and are discarded
Chicory (Chicorium intybus) • Introduction • Closely related to ______________ • Native to ____________ and western Asia • Has naturalized along highways in US • Has a light blue flower • ________________ but grown as a long season annual
Chicory • Roasted roots have been widely used as a _______________ substitute • Reduces bitterness of coffee
Chicory • Witloof chicory • Traditionally forced indoors during winter to produce ________ • ______________ are planted in moist sand or peat moss and kept in the dark • Any light getting to the ______________ causes them to turn bitter
Chicory Radicchio or leaf chicory • Most common are _____ or variegated, loosely wrapped, semiheading types • Grown ___________ similar to lettuce • ___________ used in salads or can be grilled
Greens • Were commonly consumed by our ancestors • Often were wild plants that emerged early in the spring • Examples • ______________ • Dandelion greens • Are generally consumed cooked
Spinach (Spinacia oleracea) • Background • Native to western Asia • First cultivated by Persians • Spread to China by 7th century • Reached Europe by 11th century • Plant characteristics • Edible part of spinach is _____________ of leaves • ___________________ is produced in response to long days and hot temperatures
Spinach • Savoy • Crinkled leaf spinach • Retains ___________ • New Zealand Spinach (Tetragonia tetragonioides) • A substitute for spinach • Can grow in dry weather and _______ temperatures
Chard or Swiss Chard (Beta vulgaris Cicla group) • Background • Type of beet that was developed for its large, crisp leaves • Wild beet a common seaside plant in ___________, North Africa, and Asia • Leaves first first part of beets consumed
Chard • Why grow chard? • Does not form a seedstalk in ___________ weather (unlike spinach) • Can use both leaf blades and leafstalks (petioles) • Colorful ____________ ranging from white to yellow or red • Good flavor • Seed from early spring to midsummer • Harvesting • Harvest leaves when they are small
Collard and Kale (Brassica oleracea Acephala group) • Background • Originated in Western Europe • Characteristics • Kale refers to a curly leaf form of ______________ • Collards are a nonheading form of cabbage • Forms a large _________ of blue-green leaves • Hardy _________ season vegetable
Collard and Kale Cultivation • Planting • May be ___________ or • transplanted • Tolerate summer heat • Seed in midsummer for fall harvest • Usually gives best results • Light ____________ improves mild-cabbage like flavor
Collard and Kale Harvest • Can be harvested by two methods: • Entire young plant can be cut off at the _________ and used • Individual ________ can be harvested throughout the season