Toss out the cos; dump the iceberg while you're at it, too. Lettuce is crap. Lettuce has always been crap. And here is why.

Cos lettuce (also known as romaine lettuce in the US) is a bit of worry. There have been a spate of health scares relating to E. coli connected to the leafy salad green - both in Australia and abroad. Here's what you need to know.

In a world where recipe writers seek to maximise both flavour and/or nutritional value, iceberg lettuce does not garner a lot of attention or praise. Though it may not have the peppery bite of arugula or the vitamin content of kale, shredded iceberg actually dominates as a sandwich green.

These are tough times for Caesar salad lovers. Though it’s reportedly safe to consume romaine lettuce that you’re positively sure isn’t from Yuma, Arizona, it’s also perfectly normal to feel a little wary of that particular leaf. The bright side is that this crisis has given us a wonderful opportunity to talk about three other plant parts that make really excellent Caesars.

I hate to sound melodramatic, but lettuce and I are enemies. It's not that I don't like eating salad -- I do -- it's that I never eat salad fast enough before my lettuce gets "weird", as in "not technically inedible but kind of limp and not-so-fresh looking". This makes me feel like a failure, and I hate failure. Luckily, Jenn Louis has a recipe specifically designed for not-quite-salad-worthy lettuce, and it's called "lettuce jam".

Salad greens can start to go bad within a day if you don't store them properly. This salad spinner trick makes sure they get washed, and stay fresh for up to a month.

Wilted lettuce is usually thought of as the enemy of delicious salads, but intentionally wilting it (or "killing it", as it is sometimes called) with bacon grease is a thing of beauty.

It pains me to say this, because I'm lazy. But after the umpteenth outbreak of food poisoning from bags of freshly washed greenery, I think it's time we all stop eating bagged salads.