Where did roman lettuce originate?

Answer 1

A Romaine-like lettuce appeared in Egyptian tomb paintings that date back to 4500 B.C. Romaine eventually made its way to the Middle East and to the Mediterranean. Romaine was in common use on the Greek island of Kos, from which it gets its British name. In ancient Rome, Romaine lettuce was eaten both cooked and raw, and was a common part of the Roman diet. The Romans called it Cappadocian lettuce, and believed in its healthful and medicinal properties. According to Pliny, the emperor Augustus Caesar erected a statue to honor its healing abilities after being cured of a serious illness. Lettuce juice was used as a medicine by many ancient herbalists.

The name Romaine dates from the time when the Popes moved from Rome to Avignon in the 14th century, bringing this type of lettuce with them and having it grown in the palace gardens. Light-green, dark-green, and red-spotted forms of Romaine were described in 1623. The type was common in Italy in the Middle Ages and is said to have been taken to France from Italy in 1537 by Rabelais. Toward the end of the 16th century it was still rarely grown in France and Germany.

For much of the 20th century, Romaine wasn't known at all to many Americans. That's because of the overwhelming success of iceberg lettuce, which can withstand days if not weeks of shipping. As late as the mid-1970s, iceberg lettuce accounted for more than 95% of all of the lettuce grown in this country. Then along came the reborn Caesar salad. Invented in a Tijuana restaurant in the 1920s, for decades the Caesar salad was known as a California specialty. In the late 1970s the Ceasar salad was "discovered" by the fast food industry, and there followed a couple of decades of popularity.

The top Romaine lettuce producing countries are China, United States, Spain, Italy and India. In the United States, California produces about 75% of the Romaine lettuce. The second top producing state is Arizona which accounts for another 19%.

Answer 2

North America