Move over cauliflower. Apparently it’s time for lettuce’s glow up.
If you’ve come anywhere near a newspaper, TV or social media site in the last few days you’d know just how much a head of lettuce now costs.
Soaring grocery prices and flood-ravaged farms are forcing grocery shoppers to flip their couch cushions in hope of spare change to be able to afford the staple leafy green vegetable.
KFC has also just announced it’s swapping lettuce out of it’s chicken burgers and wraps for more-affordable cabbage.
At the time of writing, both Coles and Woolworths are currently selling iceberg lettuce for $5.50 per head.
The ABC reported that some supermarkets are selling it for as high as $12. For some perspective, that’s about the same price as two containers of Lumpfish Caviar at either supermarket.
What alternatives can save you money?
Whether you’re looking for something to bulk up your salad or top your sandwich, there are plenty of cheaper – and arguably more flavourful – options.
We went shopping at Coles and Woolworths to see how prices of leafy
Chinese Wombok Cabbage is just $2.90 per half (which is often equal in size to a full-sized iceberg). It’s ideal in Asian-inspired salads with sesame dressings, in coleslaws or can just be swapped into any meal in place of lettuce.
Kale bunches are $4.50 at either supermarket and contain fibre, iron, antioxidants and calcium, which iceberg lettuce doesn’t have as much of. It’s great either raw or cooked up, and even roasted into a healthy chip.
Cos or Romaine lettuce costs half the price of an iceberg head at $2.80 and cut up, it will be hard to tell the difference taste-wise, but it’s more nutritious.
Radicchio, while technically not a lettuce or cabbage, is actually a form of chicory and has a slightly spicy flavour to it which gives a kick to any salad or dish that it’s put in. They’re currently selling for just $4 per head.
If you really want to save money, you could also consider buying lettuce seeds or seedlings.
Bunnings is currently selling a year-round lettuce seed pack for $1.68. You can also pick up a six-cell gourmet salad plant for $8.95, which when fully grown works out to less than $1.50 per lettuce. Bargain!