# Iceberg Lettuce Sucks **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 9, 2012, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iceberg-lettuce-sucks/624659 "2012-06-09T22:52:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iceberg-lettuce-sucks/624659/81 "2012-06-11T14:27:05Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > And those are the guys that eat iceberg lettuce. And that’s why they are grumpy. When I get old I am going to live off of nothing but iceberg lettuce and PBR. And the kids in the neighborhood will fear me like no other. I am loading up my shotgun with rocksalt and coming over. Might as well make shooing the whippersnappers off the lawn fun. > [@Agent\_Foxtrot](#): > > Thank you thank you thank you for this! It has been one of my life’s missions to convince Americans that iceberg lettuce isn’t “real” lettuce! We’ve been tricked by restaurant advertising to believe that iceberg is the best lettuce, when they’re really buying it for pennies and charging us the same as romaine, spinach, or mesclun. > > It has zero nutritional value and zero taste. It’s the Paula Poundstone of lettuces. Sweet, a convert! > [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > People associate it with a time when other types of lettuces were not available. As a result, a lot of self-proclaimed “foodies” race to distance themselves from it now. You may be on to something with the lack of options in the past. But those options exist now and you don’t have to be a foodie to appreciate them. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iceberg-lettuce-sucks/624659/82 "2012-06-11T15:25:33Z")
> [@leftfield6](#): > > Now you want to know what’s not fucking needed on a burger? Cheese, damn it!! Now that’s just crazy talk. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iceberg-lettuce-sucks/624659/83 "2012-06-11T15:25:35Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > You may be on to something with the lack of options in the past. But those options exist now and you don’t have to be a foodie to appreciate them. Like… spring mix. Bleh. I know _one_ major advantage iceberg has over these other varieties: It’s _cleaner_. Peel off the outer leaves, and it’s nice and clean inside. Romaine and other “vertical” lettuces, when they arrive from the food distributor, are _filthy_. Those vertically-growing leaves act like dust & grit & bug collectors while they’re growing. And the farmers _don’t_ wash their produce before they stuff it in boxes. Washing it is the job of the cooks or the guys in the grocery store produce department. There’s a reason romaine is typically sold as “hearts”, not full heads. And it’s because 60%-70% of any given head of romaine is covered in dirt. It’s quicker and easier to just strip each head down the the relatively clean core and pitch the dirty parts in the trash. ETA: And that waste is one reason restaurants prefer iceberg. From a 50-pound box of iceberg, you’re going to get maybe 40 pounds of usable product once the heads have been cored and the outer leaves stripped away. With romaine, you’re going to get much less usable product once you’ve discarded the crappy parts. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Man\_In\_Black](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@The\_Man\_In\_Black](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Man_In_Black)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iceberg-lettuce-sucks/624659/84 "2012-06-11T15:31:21Z")
I only eat Iceberg. Other kinds of lettuce just taste like leaves. I, personally, don’t enjoy having a mouth full of leaves. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iceberg-lettuce-sucks/624659/85 "2012-06-11T15:35:33Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#): > > I keep waiting for an episode of Iron Chef where the Chairman that today’s secret ingredient is iceberg lettuce. > > Morimoto would stalk off softly cursing in Japanese that it wasn’t actually food. I love it … 😛 > [@Jackmannii](#): > > Most lettuce doesn’t have any more pronounced taste than iceberg. I mix other types into salad for nutritional value and color, but those crunchy iceberg hearts are what make the salad more than limp cow food. > > That said, I would like to see non-iceberg heading lettuce (i.e. “buttercrunch” types) in the supermarket. I love buttercrnch. It is also fairly easy to growm and takes 45 days from planting to harvest [I can grow 2 heads of the Tom Thumb butercrunch in my aerogarden :D] I have a liking for iceberg, celery and cucumber as snackss [without any dressing, usually just one item at a time, one wedge, one cuke or 3 or 4 ribs of celery] dating back to when I was on chemo and I wanted that cold wet crunch but strong flavor bothered me. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iceberg-lettuce-sucks/624659/86 "2012-06-11T15:42:38Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > Peel off the outer leaves, and it’s nice and clean inside. Probably why my grandmother served it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iceberg-lettuce-sucks/624659/87 "2012-06-11T16:01:32Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I always thought the traditional dressing for a wedge was blue cheese. May well be. All I recall is that every time I’ve tried it, it’s been _way too much_ white dressing of some sort. Like something that should’ve been served with a straw, too. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iceberg-lettuce-sucks/624659/88 "2012-06-11T16:11:12Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > …crunchy… The thread could have ended right here. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iceberg-lettuce-sucks/624659/89 "2012-06-11T16:14:38Z")
I actually can’t remember the last time I bought a head of iceberg lettuce. I’m an adventurous eater, I like things with flavor and texture and will eat all sorts of weird stuff that most people don’t like and enjoy it. The salads I make are wondrous things filled with various strange and exotic greens if I can find them. Heck, I make salads _without_ greens. It can be done! That said… I like iceberg lettuce. I think it has a place at the table. It is lightly-flavored, no doubt about that, but what it lacks in flavor it comes through in texture. As others have mentioned, a big slab of crunchy iceberg is great on a burger or sandwich. I also like it in a salad with a highly acidic vinegarette. You mix together the iceberg and the vinegarette and let it stand until the more tender bits of the lettuce get a bit wilty and the crisp parts stay crisp and it’s REALLY good. For those of you who say that you don’t like things without a lot of flavor - what about pasta? Tofu? Crackers? There’s a huge bit of food out there not meant to be eaten on its own, but rather for its texture or to work as a base for more flavorful ingredients. Now I want iceberg lettuce. Damn you all. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iceberg-lettuce-sucks/624659/90 "2012-06-11T16:54:22Z")
It’s not that I dislike things with no flavor, it’s that I dislike things with no purpose whatsoever. Some foods have their primary value in the flavor they contribute (garlic is the first thing that comes to mind). Other foods don’t have much flavor, but have other virtues: Pasta and rice contribute Calories, tofu or chicken breasts contribute protein, etc. But iceberg has no Calories, no flavor, no protein, no vitamins… All it has is texture, and there are other foods which have more texture _and_ other virtues. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iceberg-lettuce-sucks/624659/91 "2012-06-11T17:02:52Z")
I like all kinds of greens. Including iceberg lettuce. I like its flavor (it does have flavor) and its crunch. I will take other types of lettuce on a burger or sandwich, but much, much prefer iceberg for that. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iceberg-lettuce-sucks/624659/92 "2012-06-11T17:12:47Z")
[QUOTE=FoieGrasIsEvil;] You may be on to something with the lack of options in the past. But those options exist now and you don’t have to be a foodie to appreciate them. [/QUOTE] Never said otherwise. I wasn’t trying to say anything bad about other varieties of lettuce. Heck, I grow them in my garden. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iceberg-lettuce-sucks/624659/93 "2012-06-11T17:14:57Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > It’s not that I dislike things with no flavor, it’s that I dislike things with no purpose whatsoever. Some foods have their primary value in the flavor they contribute (garlic is the first thing that comes to mind). Other foods don’t have much flavor, but have other virtues: Pasta and rice contribute Calories, tofu or chicken breasts contribute protein, etc. But iceberg has no Calories, no flavor, no protein, no vitamins… All it has is texture, and there are other foods which have more texture _and_ other virtues. Again, if you think iceberg has no flavor, your taste buds are damaged. ---
**Author:** ![LaurenIpsum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@LaurenIpsum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LaurenIpsum)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iceberg-lettuce-sucks/624659/94 "2012-06-11T17:15:23Z")
As a kid, I liked iceberg, I guess because of the mild flavor (so mild as to be nonexistent) and as a delivery system for lots and lots of blue cheese. I think Mark Bittman once described iceberg lettuce as “nothing but crunchy water.” I remember as a young teenager being at a bridal shower where we were served salad with lunch. Rather than lettuce, it had mixed greens, and I remember being fascinated that the salad looked like it was made of actual leaves from plants - and surprised when it tasted good. For myself, I liked a mixed greens salad with a simple homemade vinaigrette. I never eat iceberg anymore because of the lack of nutrients (and taste). Hubby still prefers iceberg, although I’ve managed to get him to tolerate romaine (when I’m making salad for both of us). Once in a while when we are grocery shopping (which we do together) he will complain about the romaine lettuce I’m buying and insist on getting iceberg instead. But at least that’s just an occasional thing. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iceberg-lettuce-sucks/624659/95 "2012-06-11T17:16:45Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > Again, if you think iceberg has no flavor, your taste buds are damaged. It certainly doesn’t from Kroger. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iceberg-lettuce-sucks/624659/96 "2012-06-11T17:22:57Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > Like… spring mix. Bleh. > I know _one_ major advantage iceberg has over these other varieties: It’s _cleaner_. Peel off the outer leaves, and it’s nice and clean inside. Romaine and other “vertical” lettuces, when they arrive from the food distributor, are _filthy_. Those vertically-growing leaves act like dust & grit & bug collectors while they’re growing. And the farmers _don’t_ wash their produce before they stuff it in boxes. Washing it is the job of the cooks or the guys in the grocery store produce department. There’s a reason romaine is typically sold as “hearts”, not full heads. And it’s because 60%-70% of any given head of romaine is covered in dirt. It’s quicker and easier to just strip each head down the the relatively clean core and pitch the dirty parts in the trash. > > ETA: And that waste is one reason restaurants prefer iceberg. From a 50-pound box of iceberg, you’re going to get maybe 40 pounds of usable product once the heads have been cored and the outer leaves stripped away. With romaine, you’re going to get much less usable product once you’ve discarded the crappy parts. This is all true, but my spring greens that come in a little plastic box from the grocery store say right on the box “triple washed, ready to eat”, and I believe them. > [@The\_Man\_In\_Black](#): > > I only eat Iceberg. Other kinds of lettuce just taste like leaves. I, personally, don’t enjoy having a mouth full of leaves. Theydonottastelikeleavesyoutakethatback! > [@Fiddle\_Peghead](#): > > The thread could have ended right here. 🙂 Oh hellz no! That’s what croutons are for! And they have seasoning so they actually taste like something! 🙂 > [@Athena](#): > > I actually can’t remember the last time I bought a head of iceberg lettuce. > > I’m an adventurous eater, I like things with flavor and texture and will eat all sorts of weird stuff that most people don’t like and enjoy it. The salads I make are wondrous things filled with various strange and exotic greens if I can find them. Heck, I make salads _without_ greens. It can be done! > > That said… I like iceberg lettuce. I think it has a place at the table. It is lightly-flavored, no doubt about that, but what it lacks in flavor it comes through in texture. As others have mentioned, a big slab of crunchy iceberg is great on a burger or sandwich. > > I also like it in a salad with a highly acidic vinegarette. You mix together the iceberg and the vinegarette and let it stand until the more tender bits of the lettuce get a bit wilty and the crisp parts stay crisp and it’s REALLY good. > > For those of you who say that you don’t like things without a lot of flavor - what about pasta? Tofu? Crackers? There’s a huge bit of food out there not meant to be eaten on its own, but rather for its texture or to work as a base for more flavorful ingredients. > > Now I want iceberg lettuce. Damn you all. I am an adventurous eater too (had some pickled deer’s heart the other day…tastes just like chic…er, roast beef) and you sound so reasonable here I want to agree with you, but then I will have defeated my own thread and we just can’t have that kind of nonsense going on here in prim and proper Cafe Society. > [@Chronos](#): > > It’s not that I dislike things with no flavor, it’s that I dislike things with no purpose whatsoever. Some foods have their primary value in the flavor they contribute (garlic is the first thing that comes to mind). Other foods don’t have much flavor, but have other virtues: Pasta and rice contribute Calories, tofu or chicken breasts contribute protein, etc. But iceberg has no Calories, no flavor, no protein, no vitamins… All it has is texture, and there are other foods which have more texture _and_ other virtues. **pounds gavel** “Case dismissed!” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iceberg-lettuce-sucks/624659/97 "2012-06-11T17:24:41Z")
Also, it’s funny to see people parrot inaccurate statements about the nutritional content of iceberg lettuce. A cup of it loosely packed and shredded contains 14mcg of vitamin K, 286 IU of vitamin A, a couple of mg of vitamin C, and .035 mg of B6. Not the most healthy green out there by a long shot, but better than some other vegetables. A far cry from “no vitamins”. While some consider “no calories” to be a bug, others consider it a feature. We all know that calorie deficiency is a huge problem in this country, right? FoieGras, your judgement of the case is based on shoddy information. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iceberg-lettuce-sucks/624659/98 "2012-06-11T17:33:16Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > you sound so reasonable here I want to agree with you, but then I will have defeated my own thread and we just can’t have that kind of nonsense going on here in prim and proper Cafe Society. _sniff_ That might be the highest compliment anyone’s ever paid me on the SD! ---
**Author:** ![cuberdon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/45deac/32.png) [@cuberdon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cuberdon)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iceberg-lettuce-sucks/624659/99 "2012-06-11T17:33:56Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#): > > I keep waiting for an episode of Iron Chef where the Chairman that today’s secret ingredient is iceberg lettuce. > > Morimoto would stalk off softly cursing in Japanese that it wasn’t actually food. Oh, this is genius! Much more challenging than those times when the item is anchovies and they have to figure out how to incorporate it into dessert. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iceberg-lettuce-sucks/624659/100 "2012-06-11T17:36:23Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > Also, it’s funny to see people parrot inaccurate statements about the nutritional content of iceberg lettuce. A cup of it loosely packed and shredded contains 14mcg of vitamin K, 286 IU of vitamin A, a couple of mg of vitamin C, and .035 mg of B6. Micrograms? International Units? .035 mg of something? Come now, you’re going to have to do better than that! That’s so close to nothing as to actually _be_ nothing! If you ate nothing but iceberg lettuce every day you’d eventually die of malnutrition (or water poisoning)! 🙂 > [@](#): > > Not the most healthy green out there by a long shot, but better than some other vegetables. A far cry from “no vitamins”. > > While some consider “no calories” to be a bug, others consider it a feature. **We all know that calorie deficiency is a huge problem in this country, right?** > > FoieGras, your judgement of the case is based on shoddy information. Since I live in American Samoa, I’m sure I don’t know what you mean. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iceberg-lettuce-sucks/624659.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iceberg-lettuce-sucks/624659.md?page=6)