Food Lens · Produce
Arugula
Peppery and slightly bitter with a mustard-like bite, sharper than most leafy greens.
Lens analyzedArugula is a leafy green with a distinctly peppery, almost mustardy bite, eaten raw in salads or wilted briefly into warm dishes. Its leaves are smaller and more deeply lobed than most lettuces. A handful tossed into a salad adds a sharper flavor than milder greens like spinach or romaine.
Where it comes from
Arugula has grown around the Mediterranean for a very long stretch of history, used in Roman and Italian cooking well before it became a common salad green elsewhere. It moved from a specialty Italian-restaurant ingredient into mainstream North American grocery stores as prepared salad mixes grew more popular from the 1990s onward.
Buying it
Look for leaves that are bright green and crisp rather than yellowing or wilted, and check bagged arugula for excess moisture pooling in the container.
Storing it
Keep it refrigerated in its original container or a bag with a paper towel to absorb extra moisture, and use it within about five days, since the tender leaves wilt quickly.
Keeps about 5 days in the fridge.
In season
Peak season is April–May & September–October, though it's available year-round.
Best locally in cool spring and fall months in much of North America; greenhouse and shipped supplies keep it available year-round.
Recipes that use arugula
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Checked for each member
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