# Why "Iceberg" Lettuce? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [July 7, 2025, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-iceberg-lettuce/1020588 "2025-07-07T12:39:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2025, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-iceberg-lettuce/1020588/21 "2025-07-07T14:12:41Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I’ve grilled iceberg and used romaine in Asian soups. My wife uses romaine lettuce in stir-frying sometimes; I find it kind of bitter and slimy, but she likes it. (Never iceberg, though.) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2025, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-iceberg-lettuce/1020588/22 "2025-07-07T14:12:51Z")
> [@TheBryan](#): > > Man…I spent the last 40 years thinking that this originated from a brand name. I could have sworn we used to get lettuce from the Iceberg company back when I worked in the restaurant biz! Well, the etymology does say it was from a trade name … but way back in the 19th century. No idea if it still existed as a company 40 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2025, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-iceberg-lettuce/1020588/23 "2025-07-07T16:13:49Z")
No problem - it wasn’t a dig at you. Quiz answers that state absolute of that nature are prone to being incorrect. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2025, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-iceberg-lettuce/1020588/24 "2025-07-07T16:23:28Z")
I appreciate you saying so, but it’s fine-- I don’t have a problem at all having my ignorance fought. I was just a bit surprised at the immediate chorus of “sure, cooked lettuce is a thing”. I did not think that cooking lettuce, iceberg lettuce at least, was a thing at all, but now I know better. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2025, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-iceberg-lettuce/1020588/25 "2025-07-07T16:27:39Z")
It really is good BTW. If you’re at a bbq and there’s an opportunity to throw a chunk of iceberg or romaine on the grill, I recommend it! ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2025, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-iceberg-lettuce/1020588/26 "2025-07-07T16:28:37Z")
Please tell me we are gonna get to see you eat this. And maybe some canned cuitacochie. And cod liver-- in it’s own oil! I’ve missed Weird Stuff in a Can. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2025, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-iceberg-lettuce/1020588/27 "2025-07-07T16:37:49Z")
> [@solost](#): > > One claim is from the way it was shipped on trains, covered in ice to preserve it, starting in the 20s. A key scene in Steinbeck’s _East of Eden_ was when Adam Trask comes up with the idea of shipping lettuce cross-country in six ice-filled rail cars. Unfortunately, the cars were shoved to a siding for days, and the lettuce arrived as a stinky pile of goo. Nit-pickers point out that EoE was set in 1915, and California producers had been experimenting with shipping chilled produce for years before then. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2025, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-iceberg-lettuce/1020588/28 "2025-07-07T16:44:28Z")
I would agree that it appears to be a trade name, but the OP is asking for the reason. This article implies that it’s based on the appearance: _There is no handsomer or more solid Cabbage in cultivation–in fact it is strikingly beautiful. The large, curly leaves which cover the outside of the solid heads are of a very bright light green, with a slight reddish tinge at the edges; they have small indents, which are constantly filled with dewdrops. They are thus kept fresh and show a remarkably crystalline appearance, which well **warrants the name of Iceberg.** _ –The Wealth Makers of the World (Lincoln, NE), February 28, 1895 ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2025, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-iceberg-lettuce/1020588/29 "2025-07-07T16:47:32Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > A key scene in Steinbeck’s _East of Eden_ was when Adam Trask comes up with the idea of shipping lettuce cross-country in six ice-filled rail cars. Unfortunately, the cars were shoved to a siding for days, and the lettuce arrived as a stinky pile of goo. On a tangent but still concerned with shipping vegetables… My employer (a glorified grocery store) once had a shipment of avocados arrive in the middle of summer which, either unbeknownst to the driver or he didn’t care, had had the refrigerator unit for the trailer fail during transit. The cargo had mostly liquefied, then stench was at least as bad as rotten meat if not worse, and the loading dock had to be thoroughly hosed down. “Stinky pile of goo” indeed. I don’t think people properly appreciate all that goes into modern shipping to ensure that food arrives at the store still edible. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2025, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-iceberg-lettuce/1020588/30 "2025-07-07T16:52:48Z")
For fun, here’s a picture of it identified as Iceberg in an 1894 Burpee catalog: [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/74/167767298_0bcbaee605_z.jpg "Burpee 1894 Inside Page 2") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/burpee/167767298/) Why it’s called that seems pretty intuitive to me. ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2025, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-iceberg-lettuce/1020588/31 "2025-07-07T16:56:45Z")
don’t Asians use iceberg in their stir-fries? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2025, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-iceberg-lettuce/1020588/32 "2025-07-07T17:06:26Z")
I’ve done all three of those on weird stuff in a can. I really need to start that series up again - the next episode is #200 and I think it has to be surstromming ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2025, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-iceberg-lettuce/1020588/33 "2025-07-07T17:07:08Z")
I’ve seen people say they were adding iceberg but it was Chinese cabbage ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2025, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-iceberg-lettuce/1020588/34 "2025-07-07T17:17:28Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > It’s just a variety name (or rather, I think, a collective name for a group of lettuce varieties, when they are grown, harvested and stored in a specific manner) It’s a collective name for a group of lettuce varieties. It’s not connected with how they’re grown, harvested, or stored: a particular varietal is iceberg, or it isn’t. Although the lines between lettuce categories do get a bit blurry at the edges and there might possibly be something called iceberg by some and, say, summer crisp by others – though most summer crisps aren’t like icebergs. > [@Mangetout](#): > > Why are these radishes called ‘French Breakfast’? They are not a thing commonly eaten for breakfast in France. That’s a thing I’ve wondered about. I grow them, and sell them. When I tell customers the name at market, I usually add ‘I have no idea whether anybody in France eats them for breakfast.’ Maybe I ought to research it sometime. > [@solost](#): > > I was not aware that lettuce, at least iceberg lettuce specifically, was ever served any way but raw and fresh. > > Next time I grill, gonna have to throw a big wedge of iceberg on the grill and try it out! I’ve got a couple of recipes for lettuce, including one for grilling or broiling; though they call for romaine. (Romaine is also known as cos.) > [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > There is no handsomer or more solid Cabbage in cultivation–in fact it is strikingly beautiful. The large, curly leaves which cover the outside of the solid heads are of a very bright light green, with a slight reddish tinge at the edges; they have small indents, which are constantly filled with dewdrops. Are you sure that’s a description of lettuce? It says cabbage, and the description reads to me like cabbage. It’s common for varieties of different things to have the same name by coincidence. Maybe they called lettuce cabbage in some places in 1895, though. I’ve no idea whether they did. > [@Broomstick](#): > > My employer (a glorified grocery store) once had a shipment of avocados arrive in the middle of summer which, either unbeknownst to the driver or he didn’t care, had had the refrigerator unit for the trailer fail during transit. > > The cargo had mostly liquefied, then stench was at least as bad as rotten meat if not worse, and the loading dock had to be thoroughly hosed down. “Stinky pile of goo” indeed. > > I don’t think people properly appreciate all that goes into modern shipping to ensure that food arrives at the store still edible A reefer hauling avocadoes should be set fairly high in the first place, unless the avocados are already dead ripe. Green avocados not only won’t ripen if refrigerated too cold, if they’re held too cold for too long they’ll never ripen properly even if taken back out of refrigeration. Which may well explain some avocadoes I’ve bought, and regretted, from the grocery store. ---
**Author:** ![FluffyBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecb155/32.png) [@FluffyBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FluffyBob)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2025, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-iceberg-lettuce/1020588/35 "2025-07-07T17:18:08Z")
Okay, now I am not only craving a Wedge Salad, but Fried Lettuce with oyster sauce. Man, haven’t had that in years. Used to be a bunch of down scale noodle houses / Siu mei shops in China Town. Id get BBQ duck noodle soup with fried lettuce, it was delicious, generous and cheap. They have all disappeared, I assume rent went up. I will have to track one down. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2025, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-iceberg-lettuce/1020588/36 "2025-07-07T17:21:31Z")
I thought I saw them all! Must check. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2025, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-iceberg-lettuce/1020588/37 "2025-07-07T17:23:28Z")
My bad. The article actually says “cabbage lettuce,” and, yes, lettuce was sometimes referred to as “cabbage lettuce” in ancient times. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2025, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-iceberg-lettuce/1020588/38 "2025-07-07T18:48:40Z")
I wonder whether that was specifically for iceberg, or maybe for iceberg and other tight-heading types, to distinguish from leaf lettuces? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2025, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-iceberg-lettuce/1020588/39 "2025-07-07T18:56:18Z")
Not that I’ve normally seen, no. Typically it’s bok choy or Chinese flat cabbage (gāo lí cài) which kind of looks like iceberg lettuce for stir frying. You may also see Napa cabbage used in other dishes. Regular lettuce would wilt too much for a stir fry. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2025, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-iceberg-lettuce/1020588/40 "2025-07-07T19:03:10Z")
“Cabbage lettuce” predates “Iceberg lettuce” by decades. That’s my assumption, too, about the naming. After all, “cabbage” itself comes from a word meaning “head.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-iceberg-lettuce/1020588.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-iceberg-lettuce/1020588.md?page=3)