Arugula, is also referred to as roquette or rocket, derived from the Latin term for the species Eruca Sativa, which roughly translates to “garden rocket”. Arugula originates from Mediterranean regions. The ancient Romans used the spicy wild greens for flavoring salads, as well as using the seeds for flavoring oil.
Arugula is a member of the Brassica family. Other members include cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower. One important benefit of consuming these vegetables is that they contain compounds called isothiocyanates and sulforophane. Both classes of compounds have shown strong activity in cancer protection.
Arugula is a warming herb. It can be helpful in clearing lung and sinus congestion. It is quite alkaline in nature and helps to balance an over-acidic diet.
Unlike spinach, arugula is less likely to inhibit calcium absorption. It contains significant amounts of vitamin K, which helps to maintain strong bones. Arugula also contains chlorophyll, fiber, folic acid, and carotenoids. It is a source of several minerals, including iron, magnesium, potassium, and zinc, as well as B vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin E, and some lipids.
Arugula is best eaten raw to maintain its nutrient value and flavor. It can be juiced, used in salads and pesto, as a garnish for soups and casseroles, or eaten as a snack. Fresh arugula leaves can be stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator for about a week.
Cold winter days are a great time to add warming, flavorful greens like arugula to a meal. Visit our Winter Santa Fe Farmer’s Market and enjoy the freshest seasonal produce. Your body will know the difference.
Mary Sjoberg R.Ph.
(references available upon request)
Seed pods
It is an annual plant growing 20–100 centimetres (8–39 in) in height. The leaves are deeply pinnately lobed with four to ten small lateral lobes and a large terminal lobe. The flowers are 2–4 cm (0.8–1.6 in) in diameter, arranged in a corymb, with the typical Brassicaceae flower structure; the petals are creamy white with purple veins, and the stamens yellow; the sepals are shed soon after the flower opens. The fruit is a siliqua (pod) 12–35 millimetres (0.5–1.4 in) long with an apical beak, and containing several seeds (which are edible). The species has a chromosome number of 2n = 22.
Vernacular names include garden rocket or simply rocket (British, Australian & New Zealand Englishes), eruca, rocketsalad, arugula (American English), rucola, rugola, ruchetta, or rughetta (Italian), rukola (Bulgarian, Macedonian, Serbian, Slovenian, Polish, Danish, Czech, Finnish), Rauke (German), roquette (French), rokka (Greek), roka (Turkish), ruca (Catalan), beharki (Basque), voinicică or rucola (Romanian), rúcula, oruga and arúgula (Spanish), rúcula (Portuguese), jarjeer (Arabic), aruka (Maltese), and borsmustár (Hungarian). The term arugula (variations of Italian dialects) is used by the Italian diaspora in North America and from there picked up as a loan word to a varying degree in American English, particularly in culinary usage. The names ultimately all derive from the Latin word eruca, a name for an unspecified plant in the family Brassicaceae, probably a type of cabbage.
