Opinions may vary across the country of what constitutes a salad.
There are no rules. Anything is possible. It can include mild onions, avocados, diced apple or sliced pear. The mushroom industry, to its credit, hammered away for years to win the battle to get consumers to use raw white buttons in the mix, and succeeded.
But the salad’s central constituent elements, most would still agree, remain lettuce, cucumber and particularly the tomato. And it is this fruit which most eloquently reflects the ever widening range in the total sector.
Even this month saw the arrival of tomberries. No larger than a blueberry, they follow other novelties like the kumato, and fruit which ranges in colour from muddy brown to black - not forgetting green stripped tiger tomatoes.
So if customers develop the taste, some or all may eventually become as commonplace as beefsteak, cherry, plum and vine ripened fruit, which moved into prominence from the 80s.
Salads, after all, are big business. The total UK tomato market, for example, is valued at around £500 million annually, creating a retail offer of as many as 20 loose and prepacked varieties stretching the boundaries of different sizes, tastes and culinary requirements.
In the process exclusivity has become the name of the game.
Lettuce has followed a similar pattern although conversely, as well as the discovery of newcomers, some old favourites have made a comeback, retaking their place alongside the now standard iceberg.
It seems hard to believe that when it took its place in the market some 40 years ago it was so new it was initially mistaken for white cabbage. There were even rumours it could totally replace the previous main planks - Butterhead and Cos. But both are still alive and well and now can command a premium.
In some cases the former has even been rebranded with names such as ‘curly’ lettuce, and in turn supports the other all rounder Little Gem.
Cos is no longer just green, as well as being large and somewhat coarse. There are mini , as well as red varieties, following a similar pattern set by several shades of oak leaf, which have been added to Lollo Rosso and Biondi, frisee and batavia.
And the march still continues.
A trade marked lettuce called Salanova appeared. Billed as a one cut lettuce which falls apart and bred to appeal to the food service preparation industry, it has already added another dimension, while in the pipeline are murmurings of leaf types which can fulfil the same function as tortillas and can be used as a wrap around.
Finally, what started as a novelty and is now a fixture with several retailers, lettuce is growing happily in soil blocks and pots ready to be harvested in the kitchen. With the concept, it is accepted the sector has already moved on and a mix of varieties are now making their appearance.
However, apart from whole head lettuce being sold both loose and in pre pack form, the impact of healthy eating, lighter meals and above all convenience has revolutionised the approach.
Once the domain occupied almost solely by pillow packed traditional watercress, the still booming baby leaf bagged market has been the catalyst allowing an ever-widening combination of mixes. Young leaves have also been given a new dimension.
Spinach, once simply regarded as a healthy green vegetable, is part of the mix. Rocket, now additionally identified as being ‘wild’, is no longer an unknown quantity. Lamb’s lettuce, after a shaky start is now highly accepted, while at the same time the consumer has been familiarised with mizuna, and a whole range of leaves with Japanese antecedents such as tatsoi and green kyoto.
Red and white chicory - not the most popular of salads in the UK despite being a national vegetable in Belgium and Holland - has received a boost as a result. Pea shoots have arrived and are already being sold in their own right.
Alongside, special dressings are included both in the sealed bags and lidded bowls. The range of mixes could almost have been selected, employing a skill that combines the talent of a tea taster with the instinct of an interior designer in order to bring together ever more subtle and colourful blends in the bag.
The result has been staggering. Trade sources estimate that salads represent 45 percent of the total prepared fruit and vegetable sector. Leafy salads account for £287 million with mixed tray salads adding a further £35 million.
The progress of the humble cucumber may been more sedate, and still mainly confined to whole or shrink wrapped halves, but ridge cucumbers, the smaller - and it is claimed more tasty version of the modern successor - have been sighted alongside mini cues.
Even mustard and cress has enjoyed a makeover using a growing colour combination which now includes the first sproutings of broccoli, purple radish and giant red mustard.
However it has been peppers with their glowing colours standing out as brightly as the aptly named traffic light packs of red, green and orange varieties, which are now far nearer centre stage.
Increasing usage has prompted the development of more muted shades of brown, black, yellow, pale green, white and deep purple to tempt the pallet. The traditional bell shape may still dominate, but new sizes and shapes as well as tastes have arrived.
Some peppers are extra large, or elongated, and as pale as a church candle. When it coms to these specialities new descriptions such as Romana and Turkish style Mamara have emerged. Others have remained true to colour but become so small as to be almost jewel-like.
This transformation has also extended to other salad lines.
Red/white traditional French breakfast radish with their fresh green leaves are back on the menu alongside globe varieties which are also purple and featuring in mixed packs.
A dark red spring onion is not an uncommon sight, and the sector has further segmented with the addition of a larger bulbous type described as ‘Continental.’
The times when beetroot was the domain of the traditional greengrocer and boiled in the backyard in an old bath are long past, but the crop lives on. Today, a golden variety has been added, and both come prepacked - not just in vinegar, but infused with flavours such as chilli or honey.
Salad potatoes have joined the mix and are labelled as such. While the best known are probably Jersey Royals and Charlotte, new names are still appearing, and only recently saw the arrival of Piccolo in smart new packaging.
Whatever the public’s taste, today marketing and imagination has turned a once simple concept on its head.
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