See Also

Vegetable

Vegetable is a culinary term. Its definition has no scientific Science

Science in the broadest sense refers to any system of knowledge attained by verifiable means.... 

 value and is somewhat arbitrary and subjective. All parts of an herbaceous plant Plant

Plants are a major group of living things [i] including familiar organism [i]s such as tree [i]s, flower [i] ... 

 that humans eat whole or in part is generally considered a vegetable, except for culinary fruit Fruit

The term fruit has different meanings depending on context.... 

s and arguably grain Cereal

Cereal crops [i] are mostly grasses [i] cultivated for their edible grains or seed [i] ... 

s, nuts, herb Herb

Herbs are plant [i]s grown for culinary, medicinal, or in some cases even spiritual value. ... 

s, and spice Spice

A spice is a dried seed [i], fruit [i], root [i], bark [i] or vegetative substance used in nutrition [i]... 

s. Also, mushroom Mushroom

A mushroom is an above-ground fruiting body [i] of a fungus [i], having a shaft and a cap. ... 

s are commonly considered vegetables, despite belonging to a different biological kingdom, namely fungi Fungus

A fungus is a eukaryotic [i] organism [i] that digests its food [i] externally and absorbs th ... 

. Vegetables include leaf vegetable Leaf vegetable

Leaf vegetables, also called potherbs, greens, or leafy greens, are plant leaves [i] ... 

s , stem vegetables , root vegetable Root vegetable

Root vegetables are underground plant parts used as vegetable [i]s. ... 

s , flower vegetables , bulb Bulb

A bulb is an underground vertical shoot [i] that has modified leaves [i] that are used as food [i] ... 

s and botanical fruits such as cucumber Cucumber

The cucumber is in the gourd [i] family Cucurbitaceae [i], which includes squash [i], and in the ... 

s, squashes, pumpkin Pumpkin

A pumpkin is a squash [i] fruit [i], most commonly orange in colour when ripe. ... 

s, capsicum Capsicum

Capsicum is a genus [i] of plant [i]s from the nightshade family . ... 

s, as well as legumes Legume

The term legume has two closely related meanings in botany [i], a situation encountered with many botani ... 

 such as green bean Green bean

Green beans are the fruit [i]s of any kind of bean [i]. ... 

s, and fleshy, immature seeds such as those of pea Pea

A pea is the small, edible round green bean [i] which grows in a pod on the leguminous vine [i] Pisum [i] ... 

s or bean Bean

Bean is a common name for large plant seed [i]s of several genera [i] of Fabaceae [i] used for fo ... 

s.

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Timeline

1893   The United States Supreme Court Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body [i] in the United States [i] ... 

 legally declares the tomato Tomato

The tomato is a plant [i] in the Solanaceae [i] or nightshade [i] family, native to Central [i] ... 

 to be a vegetable.



Encyclopedia





Vegetable is a culinary term. Its definition has no scientific Science

Science in the broadest sense refers to any system of knowledge attained by verifiable means.... 

 value and is somewhat arbitrary and subjective.

All parts of an herbaceous plant Plant

Plants are a major group of living things [i] including familiar organism [i]s such as tree [i]s, flower [i] ... 

 that humans eat whole or in part is generally considered a vegetable, except for culinary fruit Fruit

The term fruit has different meanings depending on context.... 

s and arguably grain Cereal

Cereal crops [i] are mostly grasses [i] cultivated for their edible grains or seed [i] ... 

s, nuts, herb Herb

Herbs are plant [i]s grown for culinary, medicinal, or in some cases even spiritual value. ... 

s, and spice Spice

A spice is a dried seed [i], fruit [i], root [i], bark [i] or vegetative substance used in nutrition [i]... 

s. Also, mushroom Mushroom

A mushroom is an above-ground fruiting body [i] of a fungus [i], having a shaft and a cap. ... 

s are commonly considered vegetables, despite belonging to a different biological kingdom, namely fungi Fungus

A fungus is a eukaryotic [i] organism [i] that digests its food [i] externally and absorbs th ... 

.

Vegetables include leaf vegetable Leaf vegetable

Leaf vegetables, also called potherbs, greens, or leafy greens, are plant leaves [i] ... 

s , stem vegetables , root vegetable Root vegetable

Root vegetables are underground plant parts used as vegetable [i]s. ... 

s , flower vegetables , bulb Bulb

A bulb is an underground vertical shoot [i] that has modified leaves [i] that are used as food [i] ... 

s and botanical fruits such as cucumber Cucumber

The cucumber is in the gourd [i] family Cucurbitaceae [i], which includes squash [i], and in the ... 

s, squashes, pumpkin Pumpkin

A pumpkin is a squash [i] fruit [i], most commonly orange in colour when ripe.... 

s, capsicum Capsicum

Capsicum is a genus [i] of plant [i]s from the nightshade family . ... 

s, as well as legumes Legume

The term legume has two closely related meanings in botany [i], a situation encountered with many botani ... 

 such as green bean Green bean

Green beans are the fruit [i]s of any kind of bean [i].
... 

s, and fleshy, immature seeds such as those of pea Pea

A pea is the small, edible round green bean [i] which grows in a pod on the leguminous vine [i] Pisum [i] ... 

s or bean Bean

Bean is a common name for large plant seed [i]s of several genera [i] of Fabaceae [i] used for fo ... 

s.

Since "vegetable" is not a botanical Botany

Botany is the scientific study [i] of plant [i]life [i]. ... 

 term, there is no contradiction in a plant part being a fruit botanically while still being considered a vegetable . See Nix v. Hedden Nix v. Hedden

Nix v. Hedden, 149 U.S. 304 [i], was a case in which the United States Supreme Court [i] ... 

 for a United States Supreme Court's ruling on the matter.

In general, vegetables are thought of as being savoury, and not sweet .

Commercial production of vegetables is a branch of horticulture called olericulture.

Etymology

Vegetable is also used as a literary term for any plant: vegetable matter, vegetable kingdom. It comes from Latin vegetabilis and from vegetare , which is derived from vegetus , in reference to the process of a plant growing. This in turn derives from the Proto-Indo-European base *weg- or *wog-, which is also the source of the English wake, meaning "not sleep". The word vegetable was first recorded in print in English English language

English is a widely distributed language that originated in England [i] but is now the primary language ... 

 in the 14th century 14th century

As a means of recording the passage of time [i], the 14th century was that century [i] which lasted from ... 

. The meaning of "plant grown for food" was not established until the 18th century 18th century

As a means of recording the passage of time [i], the 18th century refers to the century [i] that las ... 

.

Importance of vegetables in the diet

Vegetables are eaten in a variety of ways as part of main meals and as snacks. The nutrient content of different types varies considerably. With the exception of pulses, vegetables provide little protein and fat. Vegetables contain water soluble vitamins like vitamin B and vitamin C, fat soluble vitamins including vitamin A and vitamin D, and also contain carbohydrates and minerals.

Colour of vegetables and fruit

The green colour of leafy vegetables is due to the presence of the green pigment chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is affected by pH and changes to olive green in acid conditions, and bright green in alkali conditions. Some of the acids are released in steam during cooking, particularly if they are cooked without a cover.

The yellow/orange colour of fruits and vegetables are due to the presence of carotenoids, which are also affected by normal cooking processes or changes in pH.

The red/blue colour of some fruits and vegetables are due to anthocyanins, which are sensitive to changes in pH. When pH is neutral, the pigments are purple, when acidic, red, and when alkaline, blue. These pigments are very soluble in water
.

Storage of vegetables

Potatoes should be stored in a dark, cool, and dry place to prevent molding, greening and slow sprouting. Other root vegetables can be stored in a similar manner.

Leafy vegetables lose moisture and vitamin C degrades rapidly during storage and should therefore be stored for the minimum time in a cool place, in a plastic bag.

Many root vegetables can be stored through winter in a root cellar. Care should be taken in understanding the properties and vulnerabilities of the particular roots to be stored. Many can last through to early spring and be nearly as wholesome as when fresh.

See also

  • List of vegetables List of vegetables

    This is a list of vegetable [i]s in the culinary sense, which means it includes some botanical fruit [i]s like ... 

  • Vegetarianism Vegetarianism

    Vegetarianism is the practice of not consuming meat [i], with or without the use of other animal derivat... 

  • Veganism Veganism

    Veganism is a philosophy [i] and lifestyle [i] that avoids using animals and animal products for food, ... 

  • Herbivore Herbivore

    Herbivore is often defined as any organism [i] that eats only plants. ... 



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