{"id":92031,"date":"2026-07-23T11:01:49","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T17:01:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=92031"},"modified":"2026-07-23T11:01:49","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T17:01:49","slug":"iceberg-lettuce-nutrition-history-and-wedge-salad-recipes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/iceberg-lettuce-nutrition-history-and-wedge-salad-recipes\/","title":{"rendered":"Colorado ski communities once were famous for iceberg lettuce. Here’s why this crispy lettuce still deserves a spot on your plate."},"content":{"rendered":"
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The classic iceberg lettuce wedge salad, with homemade blue cheese dressing. Photo by Bill St. John for UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It\u2019s odd to think of it now, but Colorado once was the iceberg lettuce capital of the United States.<\/p>\n

From the early 1920s until the 1940s, several counties in Colorado\u2019s mountainous areas, including Eagle and Routt, and locales such as Buena Vista and Salida, were net exporters of thousands of railroad cars of head lettuce to points East and West all around the country.<\/p>\n

Colorado growers shipped lettuce around the country well into the autumn and early winter when lettuce exports from California had ceased.<\/p>\n

The railcars were packed with ice from shallow ponds high in the Rockies, especially around the (now gone) town of Pando, about midway between Minturn and Leadville along Colorado Highway 24. Pando also marks the spot where the U.S. Army constructed Camp Hale<\/a> in the early 1940s to train WWII troops for the army\u2019s elite 10th Mountain Division who were sent to fight in the Italian Alps.<\/p>\n

An April 6, 1942, issue of the Carbondale Chronicle newspaper hails Pando as an ideal site for such a camp, \u201cfor winter comes early to this area and leaves late.\u201d<\/p>\n

Workers hauled Pando\u2019s ice to the Minturn icehouse, where they chopped it and filled boxcars of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad that had been sidelined and waiting up the tracks a bit at the Avon Depot. Lettuce farmers from in and around Avon, Minturn, Beaver Creek and Bachelor Gulch brought in their head lettuce (and other crops) and filled up those boxcars.<\/p>\n

The pattern was the same at other railway depots around Colorado<\/a>, with other lettuce farmers, other ice houses and ice pond sources. During those early 20th-century years, head (sometimes called \u201ccrisp-head\u201d) lettuce probably picked up its nickname \u2014 \u201ciceberg\u201d lettuce \u2014 due in large part to Pando\u2019s ice.<\/p>\n

Is iceberg lettuce Nutritious? Yes \u2014 and its crunch is a bonus<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Iceberg is presently much out of favor among the lettuscenti who prefer other greens such as mesclun, fris\u00e9e, \u201cspring mix\u201d or \u201cfield\u201d greens, or baby spinach. (There\u2019s also the tireless kale boom.) And, of course, we\u2019re dealing with an outbreak of illnesses<\/a> around the U.S. from the cyclospora parasite, which might be linked to iceberg lettuce from Mexico.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, iceberg lettuce remains the largest segment of U.S. lettuce production,<\/a> much of it going into what some believe to be the greatest invention for the home kitchen since the dishwasher: bagged lettuce.

Get more\u00a0great tips and recipes<\/a>\u00a0from Bill St. John.<\/div>\n

Despite the common assumption that iceberg is low in nutrition, it isn\u2019t. The misconception is based on the bias that it isn\u2019t dark green. Iceberg is strong in thiamin, the vitamins A, C, and K, and in iron, potassium, fiber, and manganese.<\/p>\n

True, iceberg does sport less taste or flavor than many other lettuces or greens, but I\u2019m convinced that its enduring appeal is textural. It\u2019s a terrific lagniappe when you can hear your food as you eat it.<\/p>\n

So, wash your iceberg well and make a classic wedge salad to cool off and enjoy a throwback to an important part of Colorado\u2019s history when the state was \u201cIceberg Central.\u201d<\/p>\n

Buttermilk Blue Cheese Dressing recipe<\/strong><\/h2>\n

By Sam Sifton, nytimes.com. Serves 4.<\/p>\n

Ingredients<\/strong><\/h3>\n