COMPOSITAE (Sunflower family)
The family compositae is a huge family of plants, better known for the flowers and oilseeds which are derived from it. One important vegetable from this family is chicory, and what would our salad bars look like without the all important lettuce, which is also a member of this family.
Chicory (Cichorium intybus)
Chicory is native to Europe and Asia, but has only been used as a vegetable since the thirteenth century. Chicory is cultivated mainly for its large taproot which is used as a coffee substitute, but its leaves are also used as a vegetable. The leaves of chicory have a bitter taste and Pliny, in fact, mentions chicory as one of the bitter herbs used by the Jews during the Passover. Chicory is cultivated from harvested roots which are replanted in spring and covered with soil or sawdust. This blanches the leaves and reduces the bitter taste. Chicory is a good source of folic acid and it can be eaten like lettuce in a salad.
Lettuce (Lactuca sativa)
The leaves of lettuce can be cooked, but they are most commonly used for salads, and have been used in this way for thousands of years. Wild species have a bitter taste because they have higher concentrations of the triterpenoid alcohols sesquiterpene, lactone, lactucin and lactupicrin than do cultivated varieties. These compounds occur in the white milky fluid, latex, and are also known to have sedative properties, and are frequently used as a remedy for coughs. Varieties of lettuce which are characterized by overlapping leaves are known as cabbage or head lettuce, and these are the most popular varieties. Lettuce with oblong leaves are known as cos lettuce and others do not form a head, but merely a loose rosette of leaves. Lettuce contains only 1% protein, very little complex carbohydrate and consists mainly of water, which is why it is compatible with fruits. Lettuce also contain reasonable quantities of minerals and vitamins, particularly silicon, vitamin A and folic acid.