(Lactuca sativa)
Of all garden vegetables, lettuce has been blessed with one of the most dramatic culinary histories. Originally cultivated by the Egyptians, lettuce was held in high religious favour. As early as 2600 B.C. it begins to appear in the artwork on the walls of royal tombs. Eventual disbursement of the seed finds lettuce in ancient Greece where, due to the unfortunate death of Adonis in a lettuce garden, it is labelled “food of the corpses”. Further defilement of its value prevailed as the Greeks suggested its consumption must lead to impotency. When the seed, and the rumours, finally arrived in Italy, the Romans (not wanting to upset the Gods, regardless of nationality) remained staunch in these beliefs. They insisted that all who consumed large celebratory banquets must either, begin or end their meals with lettuce salad – an anecdote to overstimulation and debauchery. The consuming of lettuce in the form of salad, either before or after the main mean, is a culinary tradition which continues to this day.