ARUGULA

'Arugula' (''Eruca vesicaria''), also known as 'rocket', 'garden rocket', 'rocket salad', 'rugola', 'rucola' , 'roquette' and 'rughetta' ^[1], is a type of leaf vegetable, which looks like a longer leaved and open lettuce. Rocket is a herbaceaus annual or perennial; a member of the mustard family (Brassicaceae: Cruciferae). It is rich in vitamin C and iron.
Arugula has been grown as a vegetable in the Mediterranean area since Roman times, and was considered an aphrodisiac. Before the 1990s it was usually collected in the wild and was not cultivated on a large scale and not scientifically researched until the 1990s. Today, it is cultivated in various places, especially in Veneto, Italy, but is available throughout the world.
It is frequently cultivated, although domestication cannot be considered complete. A wild type, known as subspecies ''vesicaria'', is also rather well represented in the Mediterranean flora.

Contents

Ecology

Usage

Politics

Note

External links

Ecology

Arugula is used as a food plant by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species, including Garden Carpet.

Usage

Arugula is generally used in salads but also cooked as a vegetable with pastas or meats and in coastal Slovenia (especially Koper), it is added in the squeaky cheese burek. In Italy, it is often used in pizzas, added just before the baking period ends or immediately afterwards, so that it can wilt in the heat. It is sometimes used as an ingredient in pesto, either in addition to basil or as a (non-traditional) substitute. A dish in Veneto consists of shredded, cured horsemeat on a bed of arugula dressed with olive oil and fresh lemon juice. Arugula has a rich, peppery taste, and is surprisingly flavorful for a leafy green.

Politics

Recently, U.S. Presidential Candidate Senator Barack Obama used the word while in Adel, Iowa, saying, "Anybody gone into Whole Foods lately and seen what they charge for arugula?" (Apparently, he was trying to make the point that grocers charge much higher prices for food than farmers get.) Unfortunately for Obama, the blue collar workers did not know what arugula was, nor did they commonly shop in Whole Foods markets. (There are none in Iowa: the nearest are in Omaha, NE; Kansas City, KS; and Minneapolis, MN). Incidentally, the Clinton campaign picked this up and wants to portray Obama as a member of the elite who does not know what a large percentage of the population faces.^[2]

Note

1. The term ''arugula'' (variations of Italian dialects around ''arigola'') is the term often used by the Italian diaspora in Australia and North America; both words ''arugula'' and ''rocket'' ultimately come from the Latin word stem ''roc'' and ''eruca'', which means harsh, in reference to its bitter flavour, especially when collected from the wild.
2. http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2007/aug/13/obama_disappoints_judicial_confirmation/

External links

★ Rocket: a Mediterranean crop for the world (PDF document)

★ Nutrition facts

★ Newsweek: Fighting the Arugula Factor: He charms elites. But how does Obama woo a must-have: 'downscale Dems'?