Named after the Latin word for salt (sal), once the primary seasoning for greens, salads have been with us throughout history. The Roman Emperor, Augustus Caesar, credited lettuce for his remarkable recovery from a dangerous illness and subsequently erected a statue in praise of the vegetable. 

  Seventeenth Century intellectual John Evelyn theorized that salads were edible links to the Garden of Eden and the blend of knowledge, purity and balance that Adam originally embodied. University of Arkansas researcher Sandra Sherman has studied Evelyn's writings. She explains, "A salad reconstitutes Eden as a perfect array of vegetables in a discrete, well-tended place. To prepare and consume such a salad is to enact a primal scene - it is to participate in Eden."

Whether you think of salad as a journey toward purity or a no-sweat summer supper, here are a few facts from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to give you a heads-up when choosing lettuce.

Four types of lettuce are generally sold: 

   Iceberg:  Heads are large, round and solid, with medium-green outer leaves and lighter or pale-green inner leaves.

  Butter-head lettuce includes the Boston and Bibb varieties and has a smaller head than iceberg. This type will have soft, succulent light-green  leaves in a rosette pattern in the center.

  Romaine lettuce plants are tall and cylindrical with crisp, dark-green leaves in a loosely folded head.

  Leaf lettuce includes many varieties - none with a compact head. Leaves are broad, tender, succulent and fairly smooth, and they vary in color according to variety.

Look for signs of freshness in lettuce. For iceberg lettuce and Romaine, the leaves should be crisp. Other lettuce types will have a softer texture, but leaves should not be wilted. Look for a good, bright color - in most varieties, medium to light green. Some varieties have red leaves. 

  Avoid heads of the iceberg type which are very hard and lack green color (signs of overmaturity). Such heads sometimes develop discoloration of the inner leaves and midribs and may have a less desirable flavor. Also avoid heads with irregular shapes and hard bumps on top, which indicate the presence of overgrown central stems. 

 Check the lettuce for tip burn, a tan or brown area around the margins of the leaves. Look for tip burn on the edges of the head leaves. Slight discoloration of the outer or wrapper leaves will usually not hurt the quality of the lettuce, but serious discoloration or decay definitely should be avoided.

 For detailed nutritional information comparing the various lettuce varieties to each other and to spinach, please visit:
        http://www.vitabite.com/spinach_nutrition.html

 And now a word about dressing, or more precisely, dressing application methods. A survey sponsored by the Association for Dressings and Sauces revealed that nearly half of us are "mixers", mixing our dressing evenly throughout our salads. Another 37 percent are "toppers," those who simply dump the dressing on top and dig in. The remaining 10.9 percent consider themselves "dippers," preferring to dip each forkful into the dressing individually. 

 The salad survey also revealed that:
 

• Among heavy salad eaters, people who eat five or more salads a week, Italian is the number one dressing choice, followed by Ranch and then Blue Cheese.

• Seventy-three percent of heavy salad eaters purchase ingredients and assemble their own salads instead of buying pre-bagged salads.

• High-frequency salad-eaters have higher household incomes and are more likely to own their own homes. 

• Heavy salad eaters consider themselves less shy than less frequent salad eaters.

So whether you are a dipper, a mixer or a topper, a Ranch fanatic or a Thousand Island enthusiast, whether you are searching for a paradise lost or a waistline regained, fill your bowl to the brim and savor your salad days.
 

Sources: 
  Association of Dressings and Sauces
              http://www.dressings-sauces.org/index.html

  History of the American Salad by Robin McCoy
              http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Rhodes/4190/salad.html

  Food and Nutrition Information Center
              http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/

  Dole Reference Center               http://www.dole5aday.com/ReferenceCenter/Encyclopedia/Lettuce/index.html