With a taste that veers towards the bitter, it differs from blond lettuce because of its intensely and brightly coloured leaves, but maintains the same tenderness and delicacy.
Like Green Lettuce, it has a high content of fibre, potassium, and vitamins A and C, along with calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sulphur and vitamins D, E and K. Red lettuce, due to its low calorie content, is also especially well suited to diets and carries out laxative actions; it is also known to have light analgesic and calming properties.