4 ms·

Iceberg lettuce is the most pointless waste of time and money in the entire agricultural industry. You are absolutely correct in your assessment of vegetable q

Iceberg lettuce is the most pointless waste of time and money in the entire agricultural industry. You are absolutely correct in your assessment of vegetable quality. Everything is bred for transportability, appearance, and shelf life, then flavor and nutrition go out the window. It's exactly the same story as the Red Delicious apple. They were bred to be very red, not at all sour, and to not bruise too easily. So they look good, but taste like garbage. I have noticed the same devolution in watermelons. You used to be able to get huge, arm-filling watermelons, juicy and sweet, but shot through with big black seeds. Now at the supermarket they're all seedless, nearly flavorless, and small. Same with strawberries. They used to be small, but intensely flavored, and ranging from very sweet to slightly sour. Now you can find them as big as your clenched fist, but then bite into one, and it just tastes like dirty water. I don't buy food to look at it. It seems like the greatest minds of the last agricultural generation have all been wasted on making foods look like they'll taste good, and look like they're worth the money, but then become a total disappointment to your tongue.

rdtsc 9y ago
Yes, agreed. My parents used to have a small garden growing up and we grew tomatoes once in a while. It was pain, because they needed a lot of watering, but they had an intense delicious flavor. I'd just go and eat them one after another right off the vine. Here in US it's hard to find that flavor. Some of the little green and yellow mixed tomatoes kind of have flavor, they are call heirloom tomatoes, I usually buy those. > They used to be small, but intensely flavored, and ranging from very sweet to slightly sour. The most delicious strawberries I have ever had, were wild strawberries. They were very smaller, about the size of a raspberry or smaller and would find them the woods in Eastern Europe when we went to pick mushrooms. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fragaria_vesca https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fragaria_vesca
balls187 9y ago
Come to seattle, try the Steak Salad at the Brooklyn. It's an iceberg wedge salad, with steak (hopefully that part was obvious). It's great.
- logfromblammo 9y ago
  This seems an impractical suggestion, at best. To spend $450 and fly 2000 miles, to then spend $21 on a lunch-menu salad. Made with iceberg lettuce. Instead of any of the fresh oysters on that menu that I cannot get at home. That recipe seems to be for disappointment. If the only way to redeem an otherwise boring and useless chunk of iceberg lettuce is to put better foods on top of it, like steak, why not just throw out the lettuce and eat the other foods instead? Can you suggest any use for iceberg lettuce that I can test at home that would not be vastly improved by either leaving the iceberg out, or substituting Romaine, Bibb, or leaf lettuce in its place?
  - balls187 9y ago
    What use do you have for romaine, bibb, or leaf lettuce that doesn't involve putting better foods on top of it?
    - logfromblammo 9y ago
      Now that you mention it, none. They're all just better than iceberg. Green cabbage is the lowest vegetable on the hierarchy that I'll actually eat by itself. Though even with that, I sometimes put a red cabbage leaf on top of it.
      - balls187 9y ago
        Also, FWIW, the lettuce wrap version of a jimmy johns sandwich is done with Iceberg. Works really well.

rdtsc 9y ago

Yes, agreed. My parents used to have a small garden growing up and we grew tomatoes once in a while. It was pain, because they needed a lot of watering, but they had an intense delicious flavor. I'd just go and eat them one after another right off the vine. Here in US it's hard to find that flavor. Some of the little green and yellow mixed tomatoes kind of have flavor, they are call heirloom tomatoes, I usually buy those. > They used to be small, but intensely flavored, and ranging from very sweet to slightly sour. The most delicious strawberries I have ever had, were wild strawberries. They were very smaller, about the size of a raspberry or smaller and would find them the woods in Eastern Europe when we went to pick mushrooms. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fragaria_vesca https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fragaria_vesca

balls187 9y ago

Come to seattle, try the Steak Salad at the Brooklyn. It's an iceberg wedge salad, with steak (hopefully that part was obvious). It's great.

logfromblammo 9y ago
This seems an impractical suggestion, at best. To spend $450 and fly 2000 miles, to then spend $21 on a lunch-menu salad. Made with iceberg lettuce. Instead of any of the fresh oysters on that menu that I cannot get at home. That recipe seems to be for disappointment. If the only way to redeem an otherwise boring and useless chunk of iceberg lettuce is to put better foods on top of it, like steak, why not just throw out the lettuce and eat the other foods instead? Can you suggest any use for iceberg lettuce that I can test at home that would not be vastly improved by either leaving the iceberg out, or substituting Romaine, Bibb, or leaf lettuce in its place?
- balls187 9y ago
  What use do you have for romaine, bibb, or leaf lettuce that doesn't involve putting better foods on top of it?
  - logfromblammo 9y ago
    Now that you mention it, none. They're all just better than iceberg. Green cabbage is the lowest vegetable on the hierarchy that I'll actually eat by itself. Though even with that, I sometimes put a red cabbage leaf on top of it.
    - balls187 9y ago
      Also, FWIW, the lettuce wrap version of a jimmy johns sandwich is done with Iceberg. Works really well.