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Vegetable
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The term "vegetable" generally means the edible parts of plants. The definition of the word is traditional rather than scientific, however, and therefore the usage of the word is somewhat arbitrary and subjective, as it is determined by individual cultural customs of food selection and food preparation.
Mushrooms belong to the biological kingdom Fungi, not the plant kingdom, and yet they are also generally considered to be vegetables, at least in the retail industry.
Nuts, seeds, grains, herbs, spices and culinary fruits are usually not considered to be vegetables, even though all of them are edible parts of plants.
In general, vegetables are those plant parts that are regarded as being suitable to be part of savory or salted dishes, rather than sweet dishes.
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Encyclopedia
The term "vegetable" generally means the edible parts of plants. The definition of the word is traditional rather than scientific, however, and therefore the usage of the word is somewhat arbitrary and subjective, as it is determined by individual cultural customs of food selection and food preparation.
Mushrooms belong to the biological kingdom Fungi, not the plant kingdom, and yet they are also generally considered to be vegetables, at least in the retail industry.
Nuts, seeds, grains, herbs, spices and culinary fruits are usually not considered to be vegetables, even though all of them are edible parts of plants.
In general, vegetables are those plant parts that are regarded as being suitable to be part of savory or salted dishes, rather than sweet dishes. However there are many exceptions, such as the pumpkin, which can be eaten as a vegetable in a savory dish, but which can also be sweetened and served in a pie as a dessert.
Some vegetables, such as carrots, bell peppers and celery, are eaten either raw or cooked; while others are eaten only when cooked.
For many different kinds of vegetables, please see the list of vegetables.
Is it a fruit or a vegetable?
The word "vegetable", in its modern usage, is strictly a culinary term, and is not a botanical or scientific term. The word "fruit" on the other hand can be a culinary term, or it can be a botanical term, and these two usages are quite different.
Botanically speaking, fruits are fleshy reproductive organs of plants, the ripened ovaries containing one or many seeds. Thus, many botanical fruits are not edible at all, and some are actually extremely poisonous.
In a culinary sense however, the word "fruit" is applied only to those botanical fruits or similar plant parts which are both edible and palatable, and which in addition are considered suitable to be a sweet or dessert food, such as strawberries, peaches, plums, etc.
In contrast to this, a number of edible botanical fruits, including the tomato, the eggplant, and the bell pepper, are not considered to be sweet or dessert foods, are not routinely used with sugar, but instead are almost always used as part of a savory dish, and are salted. This is the reason that they are labeled as "vegetables". Thus in a scientific context, a plant part may correctly be termed a "fruit", even though it is used in cooking or food preparation as a vegetable.
The question "The tomato: is it a fruit, or is it a vegetable?" found its way into the United States Supreme Court in 1893. The court ruled unanimously in Nix v. Hedden that a tomato is correctly identified as, and thus taxed as, a vegetable, for the purposes of the 1883 Tariff Act on imported produce. The court did acknowledge however that botanically speaking, a tomato is a fruit.
Some vegetables defined as different parts of plants
- Flower bud: broccoli, cauliflower, globe artichokes
- Seeds: Sweetcorn also known as maize
- Leaves: kale, collard greens, spinach, beet greens, turnip greens, endive
- Leaf sheaths: leeks
- Buds: Brussels sprouts
- Stems of leaves: celery, rhubarb (sometimes loosely called a "fruit", because sweet pies are made from it)
- Stem of a plant when it is still a young shoot: asparagus & ginger
- Underground stem of a plant, also known as a tuber: potatoes, Jerusalem artichokes, sweet potato (often incorrectly called a yam in the USA), also the true yam
- Whole immature plants: bean sprouts
- Roots: carrots, parsnips, beets, radishes, turnips
- Bulbs: onions, garlic, shallots
- Fruits in the botanical sense, but used as vegetables: tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, pumpkins, capsicums (bell peppers and hot peppers), eggplant, tomatillos, christophene, okra, including tree fruits eaten as vegetables, such as breadfruit and avocado, and also the following:
- Legumes: peas, beans
- Whole unripe seed pods of legumes: green beans, snap peas
Etymology
"Vegetable" comes from the Latin vegetabilis (animated) and from vegetare (enliven), which is derived from vegetus (active), 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 "become (or stay) alert".
The word was first recorded in print in English in the 14th century. The meaning of "plant grown for food" was not established until the 18th century.
The word is still sometimes used as an archaic literary term for any plant, as in vegetable matter, vegetable kingdom.
In the diet
Vegetables are eaten in a variety of ways, as part of main meals and as snacks. The nutritional content of vegetables varies considerably, though generally they contain a small proportion of protein and fat, and a relatively high proportion of vitamins, provitamins, dietary minerals, fiber and carbohydrates. Many vegetables also contain phytochemicals which may have antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral and anticarcinogenic properties.
Color pigments
The green color 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 alkaline conditions. Some of the acids are released in steam during cooking, particularly if cooked without a cover.
The yellow/orange colors 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 coloring of some fruits and vegetables (e.g. blackberries and red cabbage) 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 water soluble.
Storage
Many root and non-root vegetables that grow underground can be stored through winter in a root cellar or other similarly cool, dark and dry place to prevent mold, greening and sprouting. Care should be taken in understanding the properties and vulnerabilities of the particular roots to be stored. These vegetables can last through to early spring and be nearly as nutritious as when fresh.
During storage, leafy vegetables lose moisture, and the vitamin C in them degrades rapidly. They should be stored for as short a time as possible in a cool place, in a container or plastic bag.
See also
Further Reading
- Munro, Derek B., Small, E. 1997 NRC Research Press, Ottawa ISBN 978-0-660-19503-2
External links
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