Group · Vegetables
Mixed salad leaves (mesclun)
Mesclun is a mix of young salad shoots and herbs: rocket, lamb’s lettuce, lettuce, oak leaf, purslane and chervil. The word comes from the Niçois mesclumo, meaning a mixture: originally, it was the sorting of young seedlings.
In terms of nutrition facts: 22 kcal per 100 g, with 2 g of protein and 2 g of fibre, 2.5 g of carbohydrate and no fat. Its composition obviously varies with the mix: the Ciqual entry gives the average.
Macronutrient breakdown
Nutrition table per 100 g
| Calories | 22 kcal |
| Kilojoules | 93 kJ |
| Protein | 2 g |
| Carbohydrate | 2,5 g |
| Fibre | 2 g |
Tips
2 g of protein for 22 kcal: more than a lettuce. Young shoots are more concentrated than adult leaves, which have accumulated water as they grew.
It is never the salad that weighs on the plate. 22 kcal per 100 g against around 90 kcal for a single tablespoon of oil. The dressing decides everything, as with lettuce.
It deteriorates very quickly. Young shoots have a large cut surface and few reserves: two to three days at most, in a non-airtight bag in the vegetable drawer.
Wash it even if it is « ready to eat ». Washed bags are rinsed in chlorinated water and then packed in a modified atmosphere: a rinse in clean water costs nothing and removes residues.
Dress it at the last moment. Salt and vinegar make young shoots wilt within minutes. That is the difference between a crisp salad and a sad one.