Romaine lettuce

In North American English it is known as "romaine" lettuce, and in British English the names "cos" lettuce and "romaine" lettuce are both used.{{Cite book |last=Walker |first=Norman Wardhaugh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9dPfYi2ejyMC&pg=PT47 |title=Cos or Romaine Lettuce Juice - Fresh Vegetable and Fruit Juices: What's Missing in Your Body? |date=1970 |publisher=Book Publishing Company |isbn=9780890190333 |access-date=2 December 2013}} Many dictionaries trace the word cos to the name of the Greek island of Cos, from which the lettuce was presumably introduced.{{Cite OED|Cos|id=42170|accessdate=27 September 2020}} "Etymology: The name (Greek Κῶς) of an island in the Ægean." "In full cos lettuce. A variety of lettuce introduced from the island of Cos. Other authorities trace cos to the Arabic word for lettuce, {{Transliteration|ar|khus}} {{lang|ar|خس}} {{IPA|ar|xus|}}.{{cite book |quote=Cos lettuces are probably not named for the island of Kos but for the Arabic word for lettuce |author-link=Alan Davidson (food writer) |first=Alan |last=Davidson |title=The Oxford Companion to Food |publisher=Oxford University Press |date=1999 |isbn=978-0-19-211579-9|title-link=Oxford Companion to Food }} The first mention of cos lettuce in English dates from the late 17th century in John Evelyn's 1699 work Acetaria: A Discourse of Sallets.Grigson G. 1974. A Dictionary of English Plant Names. Allen Lane. {{ISBN|0-71-390442-9}}

The lettuce apparently reached Western Europe via Rome, as it is called lattuga romana in Italian and {{lang|fr|laitue romaine}} in French, both meaning "Roman lettuce," hence the name "romaine", the common term in North America.

For 3,000 years (from at least 2,700 BC), lettuce was associated with the ancient Egyptian god of fertility, Min, for its resemblance to the phallus.{{cite news |first=K. Annabelle |last=Smith |date=16 July 2013 |url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/when-lettuce-was-a-sacred-sex-symbol-12271795/ |title=When Lettuce Was a Sacred Sex Symbol |publisher=Smithsonian Museum |access-date=27 January 2018}}

Romaine lettuce may be used in the Passover Seder ritual feast as a type of bitter herb. It symbolises the bitterness inflicted by the Egyptians while the Israelites were slaves in Egypt.{{cite book

|chapter = Towards a History of the Paschal Meal

|isbn = 9780268038595

|title = Passover and Easter: Origin and History to Modern Times

|first1 = Paul

|last1 = Bradshaw

|first2 = Lawrence

|last2 = Hoffman

|publisher = University of Notre Dame Press

|date = August 19, 2000}}{{cite book

|first=Ronald L. |last=Eisenberg |title=Jewish Traditions: A JPS Guide |publisher=Jewish Publication Society |date=2010| isbn=978-0827610392 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_qGHi_9K154C&pg=PA286

|page=286}}

The day of 22 Germinal in the French Republican Calendar was dedicated to romaine lettuce, as "{{lang|fr|Romaine}}".{{cite book |author-link=William Tooke (1777–1863) |last=Tooke |first=William |title=The Monarchy of France: its rise, progress, and fall |url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924028234023 |page=[https://archive.org/details/cu31924028234023/page/n653 634] |publisher=Sampson Low & Son |location=London |date=1855}}

Romaine is a common salad green and is the typical lettuce used in Caesar salad. Romaine lettuce is commonly used in Middle Eastern cuisine. Romaine, like other lettuces, may also be cooked. For example, it can be braised or made into soup.{{cite news |first=Mark |last=Bittman |title=The Charms of the Loser Lettuces |newspaper=New York Times |date=2 April 2010 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/07/dining/07mini.html |access-date=27 January 2018}}{{cite news |url=http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1013102-braised-romaine-hearts |title=Braised Romaine Hearts |url-access=registration |first=Mark |last=Bittman |date=2 April 2010 |access-date=27 January 2018}} The thick ribs, especially on the older outer leaves, have a milky fluid that gives the romaine its typically bitter herb taste.

From November 2017 through January 2018, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHA) identified romaine as being linked to illness in 41 persons in Canada."Public Health Notice – Outbreak of E. coli infections linked to romaine lettuce", Public Health Agency of Canada, [https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/public-health-notices/2017/public-health-notice-outbreak-e-coli-infections-linked-romaine-lettuce.html February 9, 2018] A probably related outbreak affected 25 people in 15 states of the U.S. who ate leafy greens, but the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) were unable to confirm that it was romaine in particular. There was one death. The disease agent was Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O157:H7. The most recent illness started on December 12, 2017; the PHA declared the outbreak over on January 10, 2018, and the CDC declared it over on January 25."Multistate Outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O157:H7 Infections Linked to Leafy Greens (Final Update)", Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, [https://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/2017/o157h7-12-17/index.html posted January 25, 2018]

In response to another E. coli O157:H7 outbreak, which probably began in mid-March 2018, the CDC recommended in April 2018 that consumers not buy or eat romaine lettuce unless they could confirm it was not from the Yuma, Arizona, growing region.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/2018/o157h7-04-18/index.html|title=Multistate Outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 Infections Linked to Romaine Lettuce {{!}} Investigation Notice: Multistate Outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 Infections April 2018 {{!}} E. coli {{!}} CDC|date=2018-04-20|website=www.cdc.gov|language=en-us|access-date=2018-04-21}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2018/04/20/latest-e-coli-outbreak-warning-expands-to-all-romaine-lettuce/|title=E. coli outbreak warning expands to all types of romaine lettuce|last=Sun|first=Lena H.|date=2018-04-20|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=2018-04-21|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286}} On May 22, 2018, after a month-long warning, the CDC announced it was now safe to consume romaine again.{{cite news |last=Judkis |first=Maura |url=https://www.washihttps://www.washingtonpost.com/news/voraciously/wp/2018/05/22/our-national-romaine-lettuce-crisis-is-over-says-the-cdc/ |title=Our national romaine lettuce crisis is over, says the CDC. Here's how to celebrate. |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=2018-05-22 |access-date=2018-05-22 }}{{Dead link|date=November 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} The outbreak killed five people and caused 89 hospitalizations across 32 states.{{cite news |last=Phillips |first=Kristine |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2018/06/02/five-dead-nearly-200-sick-in-e-coli-outbreak-from-lettuce-and-investigators-are-stumped/ |title=Five dead, nearly 200 sick in E. coli outbreak from lettuce. And investigators are stumped. |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=2018-06-02 |access-date=2018-06-03 }}{{cite web |url=https://www.fda.gov/food/recallsoutbreaksemergencies/outbreaks/ucm604254.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180416222148/https://www.fda.gov/Food/RecallsOutbreaksEmergencies/Outbreaks/ucm604254.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 16, 2018 |title=FDA Investigating Multistate Outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 Infections Linked to Romaine Lettuce from Yuma Growing Region |publisher=FDA |date=2018-06-01 |access-date=2018-06-03 }} In June 2018, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) traced the source of the latest E. coli outbreak to water from a canal located in Yuma, Arizona.{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2018/06/29/624647252/it-was-the-water-fda-says-of-romaine-e-coli-outbreak-that-killed-five|title=It Was The Water, FDA Says Of Romaine E. coli Outbreak That Killed Five|newspaper=NPR|first1=Bill|last1=Chappell|date=June 29, 2018|access-date=June 29, 2018}}

In November 2018, the CDC and PHA issued a warning to consumers that romaine lettuce should not be consumed in any form, and that they should dispose of any currently on hand. The same strain of E. coli identified in the 2017-2018 outbreak was implicated.United States Centers for Disease Control, "Outbreak of E. coli Infections Linked to Romaine Lettuce", November 20, 2018 [https://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/2018/o157h7-11-18/index.html]Public Health Agency of Canada, "Public Health Notice - Outbreak of E. coli infections linked to romaine lettuce", November 20, 2018 [https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/public-health-notices/2018/outbreak-ecoli-infections-linked-romaine-lettuce.html]{{Cite news|last1=Achenbach|first1=Joel|last2=Sun|first2=Lena H.|title=Romaine lettuce is not safe to eat, CDC warns U.S. consumers|language=en-US|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/romaine-lettuce-is-not-safe-to-eat-cdc-warns-us-consumers/2018/11/20/726d0ae6-ece9-11e8-96d4-0d23f2aaad09_story.html|access-date=2021-02-24|issn=0190-8286}} At least 43 people became ill in this outbreak, which the FDA traced to one of six counties in central California: Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz and Ventura.{{cite news | title=County a possible source of E. coli: At least 43 have been sickened in outbreak | work=Salinas Californian | publisher=USA Today | date=November 30, 2018 | page=A1 |author=Eduardo Cuevas}}

In North American supermarkets, romaine is widely available year-round. Many US growers of romaine lettuce farm in Salinas, California, in the summer and the Imperial Valley and Yuma, Arizona, in the winter, relying on day laborers crossing the border from Mexico.{{cite news| title=Border shutdown worries ag industry: Trump threats come amid E. coli outbreak tied to romaine |author=Kate Cimini | work=Salinas Californian | publisher=USA Today | date=November 30, 2018 |page=A1}} Much of the romaine lettuce sold in northern Europe is grown in southern Spain, relying on migrant laborers from Africa.{{cite news |last1=Lawerence |first1=Felicity |title=Spain's salad growers are modern-day slaves, say charities |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2011/feb/07/spain-salad-growers-slaves-charities |work=The Guardian |date=7 February 2011 |location=London}}

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• Kirschmann, John D. & Dunne, Lavon J. Nutrition Almanac, s.v. {{ISBN|0-07-034906-1}}.

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• {{Wiktionary-inline|romaine}}

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Category:Leaf vegetables

Category:Food plant cultivars

Category:Lettuce