Butterhead Lettuce Vs. Butter Lettuce

Types

• Butter lettuce is a type of head lettuce with a small, loosely formed head. Boston and Bibb lettuce are the most common varieties in the butterhead family and often referred to simply as “butter” or “butterhead” lettuce. Butter lettuce leaves tend to have a soft, buttery texture, which is where the name comes from. The leaves are quite tender and easily damaged. Butter lettuce requires careful handling procedures and careful washing to keep the leaves from getting bruised or torn.

Appearance and Flavor

• Butterhead lettuce has pale green leaves on the outer part of the head and pale yellow-green leaves in the inner part. Bibb lettuce, also called limestone lettuce, has smaller formed heads than Boston lettuce. Butter lettuce has a mild, sweet, succulent flavor, while Bibb tends to be more flavorful than Boston lettuce. Butterhead lettuce grown in hot, dry conditions may turn bitter. If you scratch the stalk of a lettuce leaf and it smells bitter, you can expect a bitter flavor, whereas if it smells sweet, the lettuce should taste sweet.

Uses

• You can line a plate with butterhead lettuce leaves to create an attractive bed on which to serve other dishes. Butterhead lettuce, excellent in a variety of salads, either alone or mixed with other greens, pairs well with savory or sweet salad dressings. You can also tuck butter lettuce leaves into sandwiches. Prized by gourmets, Bibb lettuce tends to be more expensive than Boston lettuce, but the two kinds of butter lettuce are interchangeable in most recipes.

Nutrition

• A 1 cup serving of shredded or chopped butterhead lettuce contains 7 calories and 1 gram each of carbohydrate, dietary fiber, sugar and protein. Based on a 2,000-calorie diet, butter lettuce has 36 percent of the daily value of vitamin A, 3 percent of the needed vitamin C, 4 percent of needed iron and 2 percent of the calcium needed. Butter lettuce is also a good source of vitamin B6, folate, potassium, manganese, thiamin, riboflavin, magnesium and phosphorus.