Why do we put lettuce on hamburgers and other food color questions

This is a rant, but it's a food rant, so I put it here.
Why do we put lettuce on hamburgers? Why ketchup or tomatoes? Is it really just a taste thing? Or is it a color thing? Seriously. Who is the first person to say.."here, let me put this green tasteless leaf on my nice thick hamburger."

What about that little sprig of parsley on the side of your steak plate? What is it's purpose? Do most people who eat steaks really need that or care that it's there?

Why do we feel it is necessary to make foods look appetizing by intermingling colors on a plate? If we are hungry do we really care that there are correct colors on our plates?

What if we took that nice big steak to Ethiopia? Would they turn it away because it doesn't have the proper garnishments?

Who was the first person to take a vat of 6 month old spoiled milk, scrape the mold of off it, and say I'm gonna eat this, and invent cheese? Yes I know that s an over simplification, but these are the things that often prevent me from falling asleep at night....

Yes. I am a very picky eater. I will only eat a very few select things, and most things green and red I don't eat. On the other hand, I would probably be a vegetarian, except for the fact that I don't like vegetables.:bnghd:

I too am a picky eater but lettuce or parsley on the side seems to indicate that who ever prepared the plate wanted it to look colorful and appetizing for ya! No lettuce or catsup on my burger - but I do think mustard and a nice fresh slice of tomato adds to the flavor.



No onion please - its white!

I like the lettuce because it's crunchy and tastes good, not because it's green.

I like lettuce in my bun, with a dab of salt and vinegar, because it gives the impression I care about my health ; I just conveniently forget about the quarter pound of flame grilled cow that's in there too.

I've never understood why they put all manner of chemicals in lemon juice for human consumption ... yet put the juice of freshly squeezed lemons in dishwasher detergent.

Go figure that one !

Food is not there to just cure your hunger and feed the belly, and it's not the only reason we eat. Sure we need to sustain our bodies, but I just hope the route to sustenance is full of excitement and adventure.

Taste is important.
Presentation in vital.
Texture has a component.
Fulfillment should be the end result of consumption.

Lettuce has very little nutritional value, but it gives colour, crunch for texture, and pleases the palate. Tomato adds colour, flavour, and texture.
Adding a slice of dill or onions also gives a distinctive change to a burger.

Do you really want a bland beef patty with no spice on a plain bun.


Those of us that cook for others want to make the experience enjoyable. We go out of our way to garnish the plate and make the meal look appetizing as possible, because the eye is the first sense the person uses to appraise the dish.
Smell is second because that's human nature to determine if the food is palatable, everyone sniffs.
Then taste. Tentative at first because this tells you if it's edible.




EDIT: I'll post an experiment I did on colour in a couple hours, and you may be surprised.........










[edit on 16/6/2010 by anxietydisorder]

reply to post by anxietydisorder

Oh, I know. i really don't even know why I went on a rant about this the other morning..lol....
I guess I was trying to deflect my disgust with another oil leak story I read. Although I still don't care for most green, red or white foods..lol

There is a difference between eating and cuisine.

If you are eating for energy and sustanance, then yes, how it looks and colors and all that doesn't matter.

When you are eating for cuisine, how it looks and smells, makes a difference. Flavors should be balanced and compliment each other. The colors should draw the eye. It can be an art form.

Just because you don't like lettuce doesn't mean others do not. Lettuce is a nice, cool, soft compliment to hot meat.

As for the parseley, it is actually meant to be chewed on after the meal to remove odors from your breath.

lettuce has a taste. you cant taste it?

It's nice, in burgers, with a big slice of Beef Tomato

Burgers:
Depends on how you cook them.
I like mine bloody rare.
Lettuce, between the burger & the bun, keeps the bun from getting soggy.

Also, try different kinds of lettuce.
Ice Berg lettuce is mostly water and has little taste; Boston lettuce, however, has a taste unto itself and can add a very nice flavor to a salad, or burger.

Parsley:
It is actually good for you. (Nutritious Parsley: Not just Decoration)

Bleu Cheese/Gorgonzola/et cetera:
Health Benefits of Bleu Cheese

Have you ever tasted parsley? It's kinda minty, it's supposed to be enjoyed after the steak.

I remember putting lettuce and tomato and ketchup and mustard and everything else available on school-lunch burgers...

just to make them edible.





TheAssoc.

The lettuce is for the texture, not the taste...

As for what difference it makes..it's the difference between painting a house, and a Monet. One is utility, the other is art.

Food prep can be an art.

I like lettuce on my burger because it adds crispiness.

Lettice is good on a burger... but most fast food places usually jam a chunk of it on there as if its equal to the meat...

Or you'll get a piece of the thick hard part of the lettice…

at home I will always put a little on my burger...

Burger joints seem to be run by children these days... so the lettice isn't the worst thing you could complain about

How about when they drown the burger in Mayo or ketchup...to the point where the top of the bun almost floats off the damn burger!!

I ask for extra pickles... I get 2...

extra onions... no problem... Heres half an onion chopped as thick as the burger itself...

Sigh...

Old thread, but nifty topic.

I like a generous amount of lettuce on my burgers for the texture mainly, but NOT iceberg. I prefer romaine, curly, etc. Stuff with actual flavor to compliment the crunch.

I do not like ketchup at all. On anything, not even fries. Period.
I use mayo on burgers for the flavor, or mustard (stone ground) for the flavor and texture. Sometimes both on the same burger, but not usually.

I can take or leave tomatoes on burgers. They're ok, but don't really add anything texturally for me, and the flavor doesn't do enough for me regardless of variety. It's probably some underlying commonality between raw tomatoes and ketchup that I don't like buried in the flavor somewhere.

Oh, and I'll slap the person that puts a pickle on my burger. To quote Cleveland (Family Guy) "Oh, that's nasty."

I like some lettuce and a thin sliced piece of tomato with miracle whip or mayo on a hamburger every now and then. I do not care for ketchup on a burger. I like the bun buttered and onions on it most times though, nothing else, not even cheese most times..

a reply to: Nyiah

I do not like ketchup at all. On anything, not even fries. Period.

Oh, and I'll slap the person that puts a pickle on my burger.

The girl of my dreams. Wow.

Seriously, ketchup is Satan's condiment. Useless and nasty and should never be eaten under any circumstances.

I do love pickles, heck I started a thread about "gourmet" pickles, cheddar cheese and beer that is a delicacy that Alton Brown would be proud of but don't put that on my burger. Why it's status quo amazes me.