Lamb's Lettuce (2024)

FAQs

What is lamb's lettuce called in the US? ›

Mâche, Valerianella locusta, is a small, tender salad green, also called corn salad or lamb's lettuce.

Also known as corn salad, mâche, if you're feeling French, or Valerianella locusta to the scientifically minded. Lamb's lettuce is a surprisingly hardy little plant that's available when few other fresh leaves are: from autumn till early summer.

From a nutritional point of view, lamb's lettuce stands out for being a source of minerals such as iodine and potassium, and vitamins, such as vitamin C, A and B6, in addition to having a low caloric intake. But that's not all: thanks to its vitamin C content, it is also a very powerful antioxidant.

It's generally recommended to eat lamb's lettuce raw, because its delicate leaves wilt very quickly when exposed to heat. It's ideal as a salad at the end of a meal to cleanse the palate. Lamb's lettuce goes well in salads with walnuts or fruit, such as slightly tart golden apples, orange slices or pineapple.

Alternatives. Try Cos lettuce or baby spinach.

These flowers are self-pollinating and form small seeds, which the plant then spreads annually. The taste of raw winter purslane is similar to lamb's lettuce (Valerianella locusta), although its flavour is less intense.

Sainsbury's Lambs Lettuce 60g | Sainsbury's.

You can grow lambs' lettuce in open soil, pots or raised beds, and it works well as a 'catch crop' too – simply scatter seeds on the surface of the soil where other crops have been cleared. Bear in mind that lambs' lettuce grows quite slowly, so give as much space to this delicious crop as you have room for.

Watercress leaves may have all the softness of lambs' lettuce, but don't let it fool you. While the stalks give watercress more bite, with a surprising snap and crunch, the peppery aftertaste makes this one of the strongest-tasting salad leaves around.

While all lettuce is going to provide you with healthy vitamins and minerals, romaine lettuce is the most nutrient-dense, says registered dietitian Danielle Crumble Smith. “It's going to have the highest amount of vitamin A, K, C,” she says.

Can lamb's lettuce be cooked? ›

It has a slightly tangy flavour and can also be cooked (wilt it like you would spinach, or steam).

Lambs Lettuce also known a Corn Salad has dark green oval, thumb sized, soft textured leaves with a slight nutty flavour and packed with nutrients. Normally found in the mixed bag of salad in your supermarket. Cut and come again. Pick the larger leaves roughly four weeks from planting, once the plant is 10cm.

Common names include lamb's lettuce, common cornsalad, or simply cornsalad, mâche (/mɑːʃ/), fetticus, feldsalat, nut lettuce, field salad and valerian salad.

Lamb's lettuce can be harvested at any time during growth. Harvest with scissors when leaves are about 4 inches across, or cut off the entire plant when it is 2–3 inches tall. If leaves are harvested, new leaves will continue to form at the center. Store in the refrigerator for five to seven days and wash before using.

Because contamination can happen anywhere from farm to table, no single type of leafy green is risk-free. But hydroponic lettuces (which are greenhouse-grown) are less likely to be contaminated by bacteria from animal droppings.