Another romaine lettuce warning

[Boho]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/heal...lettuce-californias-salinas-valley-cdc-warns/

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned consumers Friday not to eat romaine lettuce of any kind harvested from the Salinas Valley, one of California’s major agricultural regions, because it may be contaminated with a particularly dangerous type of E. coli bacteria that has sickened 40 people in 16 states.

I stopped eating it because the non-leaf part goes brown way sooner than with green leaf lettuce. Why would someone choose romaine over green leaf? Taste, price, shape, or what? Do people not realize that it goes bad faster?

 

[Which Roger]

Why would someone choose romaine over green leaf? Taste, price, shape, or what? Do people not realize that it goes bad faster?

Taste.

 

[REWahoo]

Taste.

Interesting. That's also the difference between an oral thermometer and a rectal thermometer.

 

[RobbieB]

You need Romaine for a Caesar Salad, nothing else will do.

 

[Pellice]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/heal...lettuce-californias-salinas-valley-cdc-warns/



I stopped eating it because the non-leaf part goes brown way sooner than with green leaf lettuce. Why would someone choose romaine over green leaf? Taste, price, shape, or what? Do people not realize that it goes bad faster?

I always liked romaine because it was more flavorful than most of the milder leaf lettuces. I'm so thankful my HOA relented on a small garden patch this year in August, and I seeded a winter garden with lettuces and spinach and chard and other greens. I haven't had to buy greens since late September. I think most of them will chug along until a prolonged spell of all-day below freezing weather - and even then, the spinach, corn salad, and upland cress will keep going.

 

[aja8888]

You need Romaine for a Caesar Salad, nothing else will do.

Bingo!

 

[mystang52]

Stories like this have me convinced to avoid these healthy things and stick to my chocolate chip cookies.

 

[Sunset]

Interesting. That's also the difference between an oral thermometer and a rectal thermometer.

Oh, that's the reason

 

[ratface]

stuffing

The long leaves are perfect for wraps and just general stuffing with cream cheese, hummus or tuna, turkey and such. It will last for months, just peel off a couple outer layers of leaves and the centers stay green. I don't eat the stuff but my girls always put them on my grocery list.

 

[ncbill]

Wish people weren't so freaked out about irradiation...plenty of demos show irradiation eliminates E coli problems with fresh greens.

 

[HFWR]

 

[NW-Bound]

Stories like this have me convinced to avoid these healthy things and stick to my chocolate chip cookies.

Travelover will say "Red Vines got no E. coli".

 

[W2R]

View attachment 33128

Exactly!

I am in the process of losing the weight I gained right after my knee surgery. That means that when ordering lunch at our restaurant, I often choose a small Caesar side salad with Romaine lettuce in it.

I am SO tired of these warnings and I am not going to avoid my Caesar salads. I haven't had any problems with them yet.

Funny how it is always Romaine that gets these warnings, not iceberg lettuce. I wonder whether to even believe the warnings at this point.

 

[Calico]

Yesterday I went to Cava (fast casual restaurant) to pick up my usual "greens with falafel" bowl for dinner. The greens for me are always spinach and romaine. Last night they had a sign up saying they were not serving romaine at the moment. So I had a double helping of spinach in my dinner bowl.

Then I went to my local grocery store, and they had the same sign up. So instead of buying mixed greens, which include romaine, I bought 100% spinach.

I expect to have muscles like Popeye by week's end.

And I appreciate the efforts on the part of the restaurant chain and grocery chain to protect me from E. coli, even if the risk is small.

 

[JoeWras]

Funny how it is always Romaine that gets these warnings, not iceberg lettuce. I wonder whether to even believe the warnings at this point.

There is a probable reason. It has to do with the shape. Romaine basically is a kind of funnel that can capture and culture the bad stuff. Iceberg forms a ball with a "roof" that sheds the stuff away.

It wasn't too long ago (about 18 years) that I was in San Jose, CA and was running on a path near the south end of the bay where there are farms. What I saw there was deplorable, with human feces on the side of the path of a migrant farm.

I blamed that on the problem. However...

The authorities say they have since cracked down on that kind of thing, and that they swear that the farms having the issue have no signs of such activity. They are still trying to figure out the vector. Birds? Cows? Pigs? Dust? Water? Rain? Etc. The latest I heard was a combination, e.g. cows or pigs contaminating run off water that is used in irrigation. Then the funnel shape of the plant captures more bacteria than other species.

 

[Pellice]

Romaine and other lettuces are currently in season in the northern US and locally grown lettuce is widely available in farmer's markets and most supermarkets. They are not affected by this ban. Go for local!

 

[GravitySucks]

This is why I'm sticking to a healthy diet of donuts and beer.

 

[JoeWras]

This is why I'm sticking to a healthy diet of donuts and beer.

Sounds like a good Thanksgiving tradition to start.

 

[Freedom56]

We grow out own salad. It's easy to do.

 

[statsman]

Why would someone choose romaine over green leaf? Taste, price, shape, or what? Do people not realize that it goes bad faster?

I agree with others that for taste and for Caesar salads, romaine it is. That said, I usually go for whatever looks best in the stores. Back in the Bay Area (Silicon Valley), we could usually find romaine, green and red leaf all year round, albeit a little pricier in the colder months.

Here in central Texas, romaine seems to hold up better to the weather and handling than green leaf, the latter of which just seems to wilt faster here. Part of that is how some stores handle the green leaf. Most just open the boxes and put the lettuce out with little to no prep. I really miss the local produce markets back in California.

 

[jazz4cash]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/heal...lettuce-californias-salinas-valley-cdc-warns/



I stopped eating it because the non-leaf part goes brown way sooner than with green leaf lettuce. Why would someone choose romaine over green leaf? Taste, price, shape, or what? Do people not realize that it goes bad faster?

What is green leaf lettuce?

I never heard of (or maybe never noticed) it before this thread. It just so happens I bought some Dole brand lettuce from Aldi and it was labeled "green leaf" on the package. I thought I was buying Romaine and it looks exactly like romaine (to my eye, anyway). The taste is maybe a bit bland compared to romaine.

 

[Boho]

What is green leaf lettuce?

I never heard of (or maybe never noticed) it before this thread. It just so happens I bought some Dole brand lettuce from Aldi and it was labeled "green leaf" on the package. I thought I was buying Romaine and it looks exactly like romaine (to my eye, anyway). The taste is maybe a bit bland compared to romaine.

The leaves are curlier and it's shorter than romaine but the taste varies. I think the young lettuce is milder. I've had some nasty, bitter green leaf lettuce and some that was good. I'm not sure what to look for. Smaller and less dark maybe.