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Substitutions · 18 dishes here use it
Structure and water, and it is worth being fussy about. Dry it properly or dressing slides off and pools, which is the single most common salad failure.
Everything below is judged against that job. A swap that covers it is a swap; one that only looks similar is not.
3 of the 18 dishes here that mention lettuce list it as optional — 17% of them. In those, the correct substitution is nothing.
Functional substitution system
For lettuce, the page's working definition is: Structure and water, and it is worth being fussy about. Dry it properly or dressing slides off and pools, which is the single most common salad failure. The swap cards below are judged against that job rather than visual resemblance.
Job → candidate → side effects → small test → correct.
1 · Job
What is the missing ingredient doing?
2 · Candidate
Choose the shelf item that replaces that function.
3 · Side effects
Check water, fat, salt, acid, sweetness, and texture.
4 · Small test
Change a spoonful or small portion first when possible.
5 · Correct
Taste again and move only the axis that is still wrong.
Instead · 1
one for one by volume
Instead · 2
half the volume
Instead · 3
one for one by volume
These dishes list lettuce as optional. They were written to work without it, so no ratio is needed and nothing has to be bought.
These need it and are short enough that nothing hides: 4 required ingredients or fewer. Make the swap a decision rather than a repair.
The company lettuce keeps in this library, counted off required ingredients. A swap that argues with the top two is the wrong swap, whatever a chart says.