Little Gem Lettuce

Description

Very small, quick maturing, romaine-type, crisp & crunchy compact lettuces with dark green leaves that are often considered to be the sweetest of all lettuces. One of the very best-tasting lettuces. Easy to grow and its small size makes it ideal for harvesting whole for one meal at a time - the perfect salad for 2. Cut and it regrows very quickly. A superb heat-tolerant variety that is sure to please. 50 days.

Often described as 'a combination of Butter and Romaine'. Little Gem is crisp, like a Romaine, and sweet, like a Butter, but the texture and the flavor are still its own. While Romaine has a heavy very crunchy central stalk and thin crisp leaves, classic Little Gem has a thinner stalk and thicker leaves which seem juicier and more substantial than any part of Romaine, and are more uniformly crisp.

Little Gem works well in mixed salads, and in sandwiches. The size and texture of the leaf particularly suit it to the open-faced sandwich. A classic use for this lettuce is cut it in half lengthwise and serve each half, dressed, as a salad. With care, a tight head of Little Gem can be cut into six or eight 'fingers', which would be suitable for dipping; a bowl of separated leaves could also be put out for this purpose: the ruffled texture will pick up any dip or dressing.

The use of lettuce in cooked dishes is often overlooked, but Little Gem has a role here too. You might take a head and slice it crosswise at about 0.5cm intervals, and add this to a stirr-fry just as it's taken off the heat or float it on a soup at serving, where it's cool crispness will serve as an accent. It could be similarly added to a dish of mixed steamed root vegetables, or to a warm potato salad (steamed or boiled potatoes cut in chunks and given a rudimentary dressing, along with olives, chopped pepper, or whatever strikes the fancy).

Depending on the weather and its degree of maturation Little Gem can vary in appearance from 'I can't believe it's not Butter Lettuce' to 'heart of Romaine'. The texture will change a bit also, with the more Buttery heads having thinner leaves. Heads which are used without separating will have to be really clean, so it's best to wait until after the rains to try these suggestions.

Seeds/Packet: (min. 150-200 Seeds)

Please see the Lettuce category page for detailed Growing Instructions or download the PDF guide from this page.