# 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:** 9\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![caligulathegod](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caligulathegod/32/9685_2.png) [@caligulathegod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caligulathegod)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2025, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-iceberg-lettuce/1020588/61 "2025-07-12T00:12:33Z")
John Waters called iceberg lettuce “the polyester of lettuce”. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2025, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-iceberg-lettuce/1020588/62 "2025-07-12T00:17:00Z")
Huh. I find it a neutral thing flavorwise. The enjoyment of a wedge salad is the crunch and of course that the crunch stands up well to the blue cheese dressing preferably with some bacon, tomato, a bit of onion, without a strong flavor of its own that competes with them. In other uses it serves more as a condiment, and space filler. Not everything has to be nutritious! ---
**Author:** ![TheBryan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a5b964/32.png) [@TheBryan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheBryan)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2025, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-iceberg-lettuce/1020588/63 "2025-07-12T00:58:44Z")
> [@caligulathegod](#): > > John Waters called iceberg lettuce “the polyester of lettuce”. Huh. I happen to love polyester, too. ---
**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 12, 2025, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-iceberg-lettuce/1020588/64 "2025-07-12T02:12:27Z")
> [@TheBryan](#): > > view salads the same way I view pasta. They are delivery vehicles for the healthy foods that I wouldn’t eat otherwise. The only things I can’t make taste good with iceberg or pasta are mushrooms, seafood, and black olives I’ll take the mushrooms, seafood, and black olives, thanks. You can have the iceberg and pasta; I don’t want either of them. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2025, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-iceberg-lettuce/1020588/65 "2025-07-12T09:05:55Z")
I will also take the mushrooms, seafood, and black olives. But I’d prefer to have them separate from my lovely iceberg lettuce. (Which i typically eat with no dressing. Although… I had it a lot as a kid. I don’t often have it these days.) ---
**Author:** ![TheBryan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a5b964/32.png) [@TheBryan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheBryan)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2025, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-iceberg-lettuce/1020588/66 "2025-07-12T12:56:02Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > I’ll take the mushrooms, seafood, and black olives, thanks. You can have the iceberg and pasta; I don’t want either of them. On a side note, don’t mean to hijack, but I thought I hated pasta for years until I learned how to make it quite by accident one day with a box of hamburger helper at a time when I could afford little else. I would say between pasta and iceberg salads, that’s my dinner at least five nights a week. ---
**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 12, 2025, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-iceberg-lettuce/1020588/67 "2025-07-12T13:19:33Z")
Maybe I just taste things stronger than most (but I am not a supertaster), but iceberg has an obvious flavor to me. So much so that years ago they had some tortilla chip with a mystery flavor that ended up being late night cheeseburger or something, and the most immediate flavor to me of that chip was iceberg lettuce. I don’t really understand people who say it’s flavorless. No, it’s not as strong as a bitter green, but it absolutely has a flavor, and one that I enjoy. ---
**Author:** ![TheBryan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a5b964/32.png) [@TheBryan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheBryan)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2025, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-iceberg-lettuce/1020588/68 "2025-07-12T13:57:50Z")
I am a supertaster, and I can agree that iceberg lettuce has a flavor. I also like the flavor, but it is the crunch that I like most. The white stemmy parts can be overwhelming with their flavor, but they also provide the most crunch. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2025, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-iceberg-lettuce/1020588/69 "2025-07-12T15:36:48Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > iceberg has an obvious flavor to me Oh I recognize there is a flavor there. It is not styrofoam or ice chips. It is just a very mild taste. Its value for me is the crunch without a strong flavor. The flavor in a wedge salad is the blue cheese and bacon. I want that spread out some, complimented and contrasted with the relatively neutral crisp crunch. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-iceberg-lettuce/1020588.md?page=3)