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It's a Wrap — New Lettuce Hybrid Won't Wilt with Hot Foods
Oxnard, California, June 1, 2004 –
A new type of lettuce has solved a common aggravation among fans of trendy lettuce wraps: the lettuce leaf that disintegrates in your hands.
Sold under the “Lettuce Jammers” brand name by a partnership of Seminis Vegetable Seeds and Misionero Vegetables, the new, more durable lettuce is a cross between Romaine and iceberg varieties. The resulting plant has naturally boat-shaped leaves that are sturdy enough for both hot and cold foods.
Misionero and Seminis believe that the innovative shape and strength of Lettuce Jammers could help elevate the status of lettuce in our diets from a mere transporter of salad dressing to a fun way to jazz up traditional dishes.
“Lettuce has become the new bread, but most people’s favorites — Romaine, iceberg and green leaf — don’t stand up well to hot foods or ingredients with rough edges. The leaves are not the right shape, they tear, or they wilt from steam and heat,” said Lindsay Hutchinson, marketing director at Seminis, a company that develops new varieties of vegetable and fruits. “In contrast, Lettuce Jammers leaves maintain the ideal shape — like a pocket. They are bright green and have an attractive ruffled edge. They are crisp, too, and even slightly sweet.” Stephen Griffin, president of Salinas, Calif.-based Misionero Vegetables, says that replacing breads, such as hamburger and hot dog buns, needs to be convenient if consumers are going to change their habits long term.
“Consumers want to eat healthy and fun, but they are still looking for something that’s quick and easy,” said Griffin, a 30-year veteran of farming and the produce industry. “Beyond the low-carb trend, we think that the improvements to the leaf itself will encourage people try to more exotic dishes and get creative.”
Deena Ensworth of Markon Cooperative, Inc., who helped develop Lettuce Jammers recipes for chefs, agrees.
“I was impressed by the way the way they held their shape,” said Ensworth. “I could really see chefs saving a lot of time with these — just grab a leaf and fill with it with a favorite protein or salad.” She noted that the leaves are very consistent in size from head to head, about 5+ inches, but also found a use for the smaller internal leaves: “They make great kid-size wraps and can be served with dips such as guacamole, and as an alternative to tortilla chips.”
Lettuce Jammers are available nationwide at Wal-Mart Supercenters. The lettuce is grown, prewashed and packed at farms in California and Arizona. To develop the new lettuce, Seminis used traditional plant selection techniques over the course of six years to combine the best features from both types of lettuce.
Study Results
A wilting and durability study by an independent food scientist hired by Seminis confirmed the superiority of Lettuce Jammers leaves over those of Romaine, green leaf and butter lettuces. Lettuces were tested to determine how they fared when holding different types of food, both cold and hot.
In one test, a hot hamburger patty was placed in contact with a Lettuce Jammers leaf and a leaf of green leaf lettuce for five minutes. After five minutes of contact with the hot patty, the Lettuce Jammers leaf was affected very little by the heat. On the other hand, the green leaf was described as "burnt."
In another test that measured the relative stability of various leaves, Lettuce Jammers leaves held their shape more than three times longer than Romaine and butter types. "Lettuce Jammers leaves looked as good after 18 hours as they had at the beginning of the experiment. That led us to conclude that they could easily be stored with food already in them with no sign of wilting or deterioration," the report concluded. In comparison, both the Romaine and butter lettuce leaves were unable to hold their contents after less than six hours.
For more information, visit www.lettucejammers.com.
About Seminis
Seminis Vegetable Seeds Inc. developed the first baby carrot in the 1980s. Its products reduce the need for agricultural chemicals, increase crop yield, reduce spoilage, offer better flavor, greater convenience and contain higher levels of important nutrients. Seminis preserves the world’s largest bank of fruit and vegetable traits stored in seeds. Seminis headquarters are located in Oxnard, Calif.
About Misionero
Misionero Vegetables has been in operation for 30 years, shipping a full conventional line of lettuce and mixed produce. Misionero also grows and ships Certified Organic Specialty Salad Mixes, Baby Peeled Carrots, Leaf Lettuces and Broccoli. All products are shipped domestically as well as internationally, year-round from Salinas, Calif., Huron, Calif. and Yuma, Ariz. Lettuce Jammers is a proprietary trademark of Seminis Vegetable Seeds Inc. and Misionero Vegetables.
Additional Contact
Greg Gattis
Misionero Vegetables
(831) 755-1881
ggattis@misionero.com
Contact
Gary Koppenjan
Corporate Communications Manager
