- Season
- Field-grown Czech lettuce is harvested from about May to October, depending on the weather. In early spring it comes from forcing under glass or film. For the rest of the year, shops stock greenhouse-grown and imported heads.
- Price
- Low
- Nutrition per 100 g
- 13 kcal
- 1.4 g protein
- 0.2 g fat
- 2.2 g carbs
Butterhead lettuce
Vegetables
Butterhead lettuce
Salát hlávkový is the soft butterhead lettuce (Lactuca sativa var. capitata) sold in Czech shops by the piece, as a loose, round head of tender, smooth, pale-to-mid-green leaves.
In practice
How to store
- On the counter
Not suitable. At room temperature butterhead wilts within hours. If it has gone a little limp, a short soak in ice-cold water will firm it up again.
- In the fridge
Keep it unwashed and whole, loosely wrapped in a damp cloth or a perforated bag, in the vegetable drawer at about 1–4 °C. Use it within 2–4 days. Keep it away from apples, pears and tomatoes, because the ethylene they release speeds up yellowing and brown spotting. Once the leaves are washed, dry them well and use them the same day.
- In the freezer
Not suitable for freezing. The thin, watery leaves collapse into mush when thawed. Use cooked leaves in soups instead.
How to choose
Choose a head that feels light and springy, with glossy leaves and no slime, brown edges or rust-coloured spots. The cut stem should be pale and fresh, not brown or dried out. Heads sold with roots attached, or straight after harvest, stay fresh longer. A few torn outer leaves are normal, but avoid heads that are limp all the way through. In summer, Czech-grown lettuce from markets and vegetable growers is usually the freshest choice.
What to swap in
Best swap
Another soft lettuce, such as a loose-leaf (bezhlávkový) salad or the leaves of a small lettuce such as 'Little Gem'
In a pinch
Iceberg (salát ledový) or romaine, which are crisper and less delicate, or lamb's lettuce (polníček) for a salad with a similarly soft texture
Preparation
Pull the head apart into separate leaves and discard any damaged outer leaves. Soak the leaves in a large bowl of cold, ideally ice-cold, water. Swish them around, then change the water and rinse again, because soil collects at the base of the leaves. Dry gently in a salad spinner or on a cloth, since wet leaves dilute the dressing. Tear the leaves rather than cutting them. Dress just before serving: the soft leaves wilt and darken quickly once dressed, especially with acidic dressings. As with all leafy greens eaten raw, wash thoroughly and keep chilled.
Don't toss it
Do not throw away the darker outer leaves and leaves that have gone slightly limp. Cook them briefly with peas and spring onion, blend them into a spring soup, or wilt them in butter as a side dish. The core can be sliced thinly into salads.
In the kitchen
Cooking
In Czech homes it is eaten mostly raw. The classic is 'hlávkový salát' with a thin, sweet-sour dressing of milk (or water), vinegar, sugar and salt, poured over just before serving. Common variations use sour cream or buttermilk, chopped hard-boiled egg, or crisp-fried bacon pieces, often with new potatoes in late spring. It also lines plates and sandwiches and goes into mixed salads with radishes and cucumber. The leaves can be wilted in butter or simmered in soups, but they cook down very quickly.
Goes well with
- Milk And Vinegar Dressing
- Sour Cream
- Hard-Boiled Egg
- Radishes
- Cucumber
- Spring Onion
- Chives
- Dill
- Bacon
- Boiled New Potatoes
- Mild Vinegar
- Sugar
- Sunflower Or Rapeseed Oil
What it is
Salát hlávkový is the soft butterhead lettuce (Lactuca sativa var. capitata) sold in Czech shops by the piece, as a loose, round head of tender, smooth, pale-to-mid-green leaves. It is not the same as the tight, crunchy iceberg lettuce, which Czech shops sell separately as 'salát ledový'. The outer leaves are larger, darker and more open. The inner leaves fold into a small, yellowish, soft heart. Czech retailers usually sell it as a single head weighing around 180 g or more. Locally grown heads often carry the IPZ mark (integrovaná produkce zeleniny, integrated vegetable production).
How it tastes
Mild, clean and gently sweet, with no sharpness. The leaves are soft and smooth, almost silky, and the heart is slightly crisper and sweeter. Very fresh heads in season taste juicier and fuller. Heads that have started to bolt (run to seed) can taste bitter.
Common questions
Is salát hlávkový the same as iceberg lettuce?
How do I make the classic Czech lettuce salad?
Why does my lettuce salad go limp and grey?
How long does butterhead lettuce keep in the fridge?
When is Czech lettuce in season?
Do I need to wash pre-packed or market lettuce?
Deep dive
2 min read
Varieties
Butterhead (máslový typ)
: the standard 'salát hlávkový' of Czech shops. It forms a loose, soft head of smooth leaves. Breeders offer separate cultivars for forcing under glass in early spring, for field growing and for autumn. One example is the early butterhead cultivar 'Apollo', sold in Czechia for forcing and early field growing.
Red-leaved butterhead
: the same soft-headed type with leaves tinged red to bronze, sold mainly in mixes and at markets.
Related but different products
: iceberg (salát ledový) is a crisphead lettuce with a tight, heavy, crunchy head. It is a separate item in Czech shops. Romaine (římský salát) has long, upright leaves. Loose-leaf lettuces (bezhlávkový, often kadeřavý) do not form a head at all.
History
Lettuce has been grown since antiquity, and head-forming types have long been part of European kitchen gardens, including those in the Czech lands. Today lettuce is one of the most widely grown leafy vegetables in Czechia. The domestic field season usually runs from May to October, and growers cover early spring by forcing lettuce under glass and film. For most Czech households, the sweet-sour lettuce salad with a milk or water dressing is still the familiar way to eat it.
Science
Butterhead leaves are thin and have a very high water content, with little of the stiff structural tissue found in iceberg. This is why they feel buttery but wilt quickly when they lose water or meet acid, salt and oil. Chilling and a cold-water soak help the cells refill with water, which firms the leaves. Like other lettuces, butterhead contains a milky latex. Bitter compounds in this latex become more pronounced as the plant bolts in heat and long days. Lettuce can accumulate nitrate, especially when grown in low light in winter. EU law (Regulation (EU) 2023/915) therefore sets maximum nitrate levels for fresh lettuce, with higher limits for crops grown under cover.
Sourcing and ethics
Czech-grown lettuce is widely available from late spring to autumn. Retailers often label it with the IPZ integrated-production mark, a Czech scheme for growers who follow integrated vegetable-production rules on fertiliser and plant-protection use. Out of season, heads come from heated greenhouses or are imported, often from southern Europe. Because the leaves are perishable and largely water, short supply chains matter for quality. Buying local heads in season cuts transport time and waste. Under EU rules, the country of origin must be shown for fresh vegetables.