Face to salad Tell a Russian "salad" – and he will respond immediately "Olivier", at worst, "crab". And only then recollected juicy, crunchy leaves, which are also called "salad".

Meanwhile, monolingual dictionaries and encyclopaedias in the first place is called salad is crunchy greens and then mention that the salad dressing is also called for a hot or a mixture of plants, fruits and roots. Brockhaus and Efron and did reports that salad – is an annual plant of the family Asteraceae, and that's it. Right all. But we are most interested in exactly how the plant lettuce in all its varieties. It is believed that most of the lettuce were descended from the wild lettuce. Salads are conventionally divided into lettuce, leaf and asparagus. It's simple – lettuce is actually a cabbage with the leaves, leaf – rosette of leaves with no head is and Asparagus – bunch of stems with shoots at the ends, and in the food consumed, not only shoots, but the stems themselves, the last heat treatment. As most of the best achievements of humanity, the salad is attributed to Ancient Egyptian origin. Simultaneously, however, prevails on the Chinese version of the roots. In Europe, this plant is supposedly only appeared in the Middle Ages, although scientists believe that the most savage ancestor salad lettuce grown not only in Africa and Asia, but also in Europe and even Siberia. In modern cuisine without the salad is not enough. Nekaloriynye, but fantastic rich with vitamins and microelements leaf has long occupied a worthy place on the table as a gourmet, and the garden simple Summer Resident. For salads containing vitamins B, PP, E, K and C, and more iodine, iron, boron, manganese, various acids and calcium salts. By the way, due to the abundance of all that useful "chemistry" salad requires delicate handling when cooking – contact with metal instruments may affect the flavor and juiciness of the product, so the salad is usually torn hands. In short, all wishing to lose weight, strengthen the circulatory system, to cure gastritis and lead a healthy lifestyle, and simple lovers of good food – Build system, and eat salad. Just keep in mind: now cultivated in many varieties of lettuce, and some things that we used to consider salad, in fact they did not. For example, arugula (or rocket leaves, both spelling variants are allowed) – it's almost mustard. In modern Italy, it is roasted in olive oil and add to pasta. Arugula seeds used in canning, and oil from them – an excellent salad dressing. Arugula leaves are juicy bitter taste and a bright spicy smell, so it is better to use the young shoots, and to reduce the bitterness sbryzgivat lemon juice. According to its beneficial properties are not inferior arugula salads. It has sosudoukreplyayuschim, toning and slight diuretic effect, but also actively influences the digestion. Incidentally, in ancient Rome arugula was considered an aphrodisiac. Rukola unpretentious, it can even grow on the windowsill. Recipe: An easy recipe for Arugula: Wash the leaves, dry them, drizzle with balsamic vinegar and sprinkle with pine nuts and grated parmesan. There is a more complicated recipe: make a puree of blanched shoots of arugula, and stew with sour cream or cream – get a great sauce for fish. Another well-known "psevdosalat" – Chinese cabbage pak choi. This source of carotene, folic acid and calcium sometimes called celery cabbage, pak choi because it does not form heads. In Asia pac choi is often the equivalent of our sauerkraut, but in Europe it is cooked like spinach: stewed and served as a side dish to meat. Recipe: Chop the leaves and stalks, put out the first cuttings, then add the leaves, and fried onions and a couple cloves of garlic. Simmer until cooked. And not to be confused with the Chinese pak choy salad, which is also often referred to as Chinese cabbage. The Chinese lettuce leaves are pale green, while Pak choi dark, almost emerald. Taste pak choi leaves, bitter, and Chinese salad does not have a pronounced taste and smell. That is why the Chinese eat fresh salad, peppered different sauces. This Chinese salad is not really a salad, or even cabbage, and turnip! As for this salad, among them is the most popular is lettuce. This fresh lettuce, oily leaves that do not gorchat and do not contain sour.That is why the lettuce is most often used fresh as a base for meat and green salads or as a separate dish – just sprinkled it with balsamic and soy sauce. The varieties of lettuce are salads such as iceberg and romaine (novel). Iceberg – one of the most favorite salads in the U.S.. Its name, he is obliged to mode of transport. To keep lettuce fresh in the 19 century it was transported burying ice crumbs. Because of this wagon with a salad reminiscent of icebergs – icebergs. Iceberg sometimes are called "kripshed" and "berg". The leaves are eaten fresh iceberg, pouring sauce or added to sandwiches. In Mexico, the iceberg is put in tacos – National sandwiches tortilla (a thin pancake made from corn flour). Romaine is a long loose cabbage with a slightly fibrous leaves. On the palate a bit pungent Romano and spicy, so it is often interspersed with fermented milk sauces, for example, on the basis of yogurt. However, sauces with garlic or vinegar is also excellent novel approaches. Romano lettuce perfectly underscore the taste of cold meats and soft cheeses, and even Romano – the basis of the internationally renowned and beloved Caesar salad. Recipe: Caesar salad has no relation to the eponymous Emperor. It was composed in 1924 by an American chef Caesar Cardini Italian origin. According to legend, the U.S. Independence Day visitors to the restaurant Cardini swept all the dishes and clean up and stocks continued to demand food. Then the resourceful Italian simply used what was left in the kitchen: Romano lettuce, and dried until golden brown slices of wheat bread. A gas station he mixed the egg, finely chopped garlic, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice and Parmesan cheese. Already in the future, "Caesar" has been changed: now run it more nutritious versions – with slices of chicken breast, salmon or shrimp (boiled or grilled). Another well known group of salads – chicory salad. For example, salad Radychi – is "Italian chicory. Radychi like a cabbage white with burgundy veins. This color scheme has arisen due to growing conditions – in the dark, where no sunlight process of photosynthesis does not occur, and therefore, the green hue in the leaves there. Radychi bitter, but after cooking is, on the contrary, sweet. The Italians eat Radychi as a separate dish, frying it in olive oil with salt. In other countries Radychi used for decoration or in a mixture of fresh salads. Wide popularity in recent years acquired a frisée salad. The closest relative of chicory, frisée, as and Radic – the fruit of labor of breeders and also grown in the dark. Shoots of the frieze, like the leaves Radic, at the base white, which avoids unnecessary bitterness in the taste. Frise can eat fresh salads or mixed blanch. Try, for example, make a salad of blanched frisée, Antonov's apples, bell pepper and smoked bacon. Before use Frise be several times washed in cold water. About salads can tell. Even a simple listing of names will take time and require effort to memorize. Cress and Lolo rosso, chicory and yellow Batavia, shnitt salad … Try to look into the gardener's guide – where varieties of salads even more than recipes for salads in the cookbook. Among the many flavors of salad will be able to find your favorite one, so that produce or buy and try, the more so that lettuce season in full swing. Just do not forget about caution: salads very effectively accumulate nitrate, so buy them better in proven producers or sellers acquaintances, and grow strictly according to instructions. Pauline Bar