Mesclun leaves sustainably grown at The Chef’s Garden range in hues from green to red, and from amber to chartreuse, and from lime to magenta. Some leaves are crisp while others are buttery. Still others are brittle. Flavors are well rounded: slightly salty, slightly sweet, slightly bitter and slightly sour! “With mesclun,” Lee says, “you never have a one-dimensional salad. It used to be that you needed to add dressing to give flavor to a salad. With these greens, you can simply add a light vinaigrette so that people can enjoy the flavor of the mesclun itself.” Mesclun is harvested daily, with what is harvested varying day by day. “That’s what keeps everything interesting and exciting,” Lee shares. “Our pick of the day mix is never exactly the same, consisting of which flavors and shapes and textures work best that specific day. No matter what the mix, though, the flavors entice the palate, which is why this pick of the day product remains very popular.” Depending upon the variety of the greens, ultra mesclun leaves range from about 1 ½ inches to about 3 ½ inches.
According to American Plate: A Culinary History in 100 Bites, Thomas Jefferson was an aficionado of mesclun, even though that’s not what the greens were called in that era. During the five years in which Jefferson served as minister to France, he lived in Paris and studied French cooking (as well as Italian) “as a scholar, a booster of American agriculture, and a gourmet.” When he returned to Monticello, his Virginian home, he grew eight different types of lettuce. The young leaves were picked early in the morning and then plunged into cold water to keep them fresh for dinner. Jefferson also ordered olive tree seedlings from Europe, hoping to create olive oil for his salads, but that endeavor failed. Jefferson’s garden was actually a hanging garden, 1,000 feet in length, carved into the south side of Monticello Mountain. He methodically divided his garden into 24 plots, and arranged them by what part of the plant was harvested: the “fruit” (tomatoes and beans, for example); the roots or the leaves. All told, he grew 330 varieties of vegetables from more than 70 species. His goal was to experiment and document, and then ultimately select the best variety or two from each vegetable type to continue to grow.
What sets our mesclun greens apart? First, we are relentlessly dedicated to providing chefs exactly what they need. We are your personal farmer. We hand-harvest daily, picking to order and shipping products overnight to guarantee the freshest, most vibrant and flavorful mesclun greens and other products available. We are committed to sustainable agricultural practices and our cutting-edge food safety program. Contact us to get started!