BOTANICAL NAME: Lactuca sativa
FAMILY: Asteraceae
Isuppose the salad and glass of chilled chardonnay of California cuisine will always remain in fashion, even though vinegar dressing kills good wine. But perhaps this is not altogether bad, since most trade chardonnays taste like a blend of kerosene and margarine—burnt, oaky margarine at that. Baptizing salad lettuces with names like Beaujolais, Sangria, or Bubbles for the champagne set does not deflect the palate from the queasiness that lingers from this very odd combination. The red-black Merlot lettuce is therefore a happy accident, and we must thank Shepherd Ogden, founder of Cook’s Garden Seeds, for his discerning, evervigilant eye for saladings of beauty and innate good taste.
The Dutch seed company of Enza Zaden created Merlot in the 1980s but decided that because it was so dark in color it would never succeed as a commercial variety. Hello, Holland: dark red lettuce is very high in flavonol, a compound that acts as an anti-oxidant. This is probably one of the most antioxidant lettuces available, but of course this health factor is not a message that makes money for agribusiness. In fact, Enza Zaden named the variety Galactica, in spite of the fact that the Milky Way is not wine red. The lettuce is still sold as Galactica in Europe. In this country it is called Merlot.
Shepherd Ogden trialed the lettuce in Vermont and, after receiving considerable feedback from his customers, realized, quite sensibly, that this Dutch dumpling cried out for a better name. So he dubbed it Merlot and the match is perfect. For if ever there was a lettuce as deep red as merlot wine, this is it. For a lettuce lover like myself, I can only say that I have looked for years for a lettuce as perfectly red as this one. It launches a mixed salad to new heights, and the color is downright winning. Not only that, it has an unusual rich flavor, something quite different when it comes to lettuce, that seems to change daily as the lettuce matures.
If ever there was a lettuce as deep red as merlot wine, this is it.
I have planted Merlot in my garden, and whether a border, an interplanting with other greens of various striking colors, or just alone in a clump of twenty plants, every single visitor has stopped to comment (and when my back is turned, to pull off leaves to eat). I wish this lettuce were an heirloom, but it is not one yet. I think, however, that it will join a long list of new classics that are bound to be around for a long time. I cannot imagine a more striking salad than one made with Merlot, Chengdu garlic (page 42), Spotted Aleppo lettuce (page 226), some leaves and flowers of the Chinese violet cress (page 53), a handful of golden corn salad (page 101), and perhaps a few bits of All-Red potato (page 7) well poached. Exquisite. Serve with chilled champagne.