Lamb's lettuce (2024)

Sometimes known as Corn Salad, lamb's lettuce has long spoon-shaped dark leaves and a distinctive, tangy flavour. It is used raw in salads as well as steamed and served as a vegetable. The unusual name reputedly comes from the lettuce's resemblance to the size and shape of a lamb's tongue.

Availability

Lamb's lettuce is at its best from May to November.

Learn how to grow your lamb's lettuce from the experts at Gardeners’ World.

Choose the best

Dark, narrow leaves that are springy and unwilted.

Prepare it

Be sure to wash and drain lamb's lettuce thoroughly before using as, like spinach, it can be quite grainy and gritty.

Store it

It is quickly perishable and should be used within two days of purchase. Store in an airtight plastic bag in the fridge.

Cook it

As a main ingredient in salads or cooked and served as a side vegetable.

Alternatives

Try Cos lettuce or baby spinach.

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.

What is a good substitute for lamb's lettuce? ›

Alternatives. Try Cos lettuce or baby spinach.

Is lamb's lettuce cut and come again? ›

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.

Can you eat the flowers of lamb's lettuce? ›

You can use the flowers as edible decorations. Try pairing corn salad with apples, peaches, or oranges, walnuts, cold lamb, steamed fish, basil, strawberries, mild cheese, and hot smoked salmon.

Can lamb's lettuce be eaten raw? ›

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.

Why is lamb's lettuce good for you? ›

lamb's lettuce further contains vitamin a and c and a reasonable amount of vitamin b6, iron and potassium. benefits: the vitamin a in lamb's lettuce helps prevent age-related decrease in eyesight, whilst vitamin c works as an immune booster to your system and helps lower blood pressure.

What supermarket sells lamb's lettuce? ›

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

What is another name for 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.

Is watercress the same as lamb's lettuce? ›

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.

How long does lambs lettuce last in the fridge? ›

Like most salad crops, you can pick lamb's lettuce either by removing individual leaves or by harvesting the whole rosette. Use scissors or secateurs for the cleanest cut. Lambs' lettuce leaves will last for up to two weeks in the fridge, although they're best eaten fresh.

Does lamb's lettuce spread? ›

Lamb's lettuce will self sow itself year after year if you let it!

Can you freeze lambs lettuce? ›

Lamb's Lettuce doesn't freeze naturally well on its own – so if you do have a yield, blitz into sauces or pesto's and freeze those in ice-cube trays for Lamb's Lettuce freshness throughout the year.

What is lambs lettuce in america? ›

lamb's lettuce, (Valerianella locusta), weedy plant of the family Caprifoliaceae, native to southern Europe but widespread in grainfields in Europe and North America. It has been used locally as a salad green and as an herb with a nutty tangy flavour. lamb's lettuce. Also called: Lewiston corn salad or mâche.

Is purslane the same as lambs lettuce? ›

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.

What does lamb's lettuce taste like? ›

Also known as mâche, corn salad, field salad and rapunzel, as in the fairy tale. The small leaves sit in rosettes which can be placed whole in salads. The flavor is strong and nutty, a bit like cress.

Is there another name for 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.

What is lambs lettuce in English? ›

Lamb's lettuce is an ancient species known by regional names worldwide, with the most common descriptors being Mache, Vit, Corn Salad, Field Lettuce, Vineyard Lettuce, and Field Salad in English, Feldsalat, Nüsschen, and Nüsslisalat in German, Pomache, Blanchette, Boursette, Rampon, and Mâche in French, Soncino and ...

Is purslane the same as lamb's lettuce? ›

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.

Is lambs lettuce the same as watercress? ›

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.

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