Arugula is a dark leafy green often found in a bag of “spring mix” salad mix at the grocery store. Arugula has a slightly peppery flavor
Arugula is a dark leafy green with a peppery taste that is rich in vitamin K, folate, calcium and potassium. One thing it is not rich in is calories. One cup (8 oz. or 20 grams) of arugula has only 5 total calories.
Arugula also has other names for itself including salad rocket, garden rocket, eruca, rucola and colewort. In terms of official verbage, arugula is know as Eruca vesicaria, Eruca sativa or Brassica eruca, meaning that it belongs to the Eruca genus and the Brassicaceae family. The Brassicaceae family also includes other healthy and low calorie foods such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussel sprouts and many others.
The brave scientists who study lettuce-like vegetables believe that arugula originates genetically from the Mediterranean region as well as Morocco, Portugal, Lebanon and Syria. Today, it is eaten raw by itself in places like Turkey, Egypt, Cyprus and Brazil as a side dish. In Italy, like everything else, they put it on a pizza.