A vegetable is an edible In general terms, eating is the process of consuming food to provide for the nutritional needs of an animal, particularly their energy requirements and to grow. All animals must eat organisms in order to survive: carnivores eat other animals, herbivores eat plants, and omnivores consume a mixture of both; see feeding plant or part of a plants Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. They include familiar organisms such as trees, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. About 350,000 species of plants, defined as seed plants, bryophytes, ferns and fern allies, are estimated to exist currently. As of 2004, some 287,655 species had been other than a sweet Sweet is one of the five basic tastes and is almost universally regarded as a pleasurable experience. Foods rich in simple carbohydrates such as sugar are those most commonly associated with sweetness, although there are other natural and artificial compounds that are much sweeter, some of which have been used as sugar substitutes for those with a fruit The term fruit has different meanings dependent on context, and the term is not synonymous in food preparation and biology. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants disseminate seeds, and the presence of seeds indicates that a structure is most likely a fruit, though not all seeds come from fruits or seed A seed ( /ˈsiːd/ ), referred to as a kernel in some plants, is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant. The formation of the seed completes. The word is not scientific Science refers to any systematic knowledge-base or prescriptive practice that is capable of resulting in a prediction or predictable type of outcome. In this sense, science may refer to a highly skilled technique or practice, however, but instead is largely based on culinary Culinary art is the art of cooking. The word "culinary" is defined as something related to, or connected with, cooking or kitchens. A culinarian is a person working in the culinary arts. A culinarian working in restaurants is commonly known as a cook or a chef. Culinary artists are responsible for skillfully preparing meals that are as and cultural Culture is a term that has different meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions. However, the word "culture" is most commonly used in three basic senses: tradition. Thus the application of the word is somewhat arbitrary and subjective. For example, some people consider mushrooms A mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus, hence the word mushroom is most often applied to those fungi that have a stem (stipe), a cap (pileus), and gills to be vegetables^{[1] [2][3]} while others consider them a separate food category.^[4]

Some vegetables can be consumed raw, and some may (or must) be cooked Cooking is the process of preparing food by applying heat, selecting, measuring and combining of ingredients in an ordered procedure for producing safe and edible food. The process encompasses a vast range of methods, tools and combinations of ingredients to alter the flavor, appearance, texture, or digestibility of food. Factors affecting the in various ways, most often in non-sweet (savory Umami is one of the five generally recognised basic tastes sensed by specialized receptor cells present on the human tongue. Umami is a loanword from Japanese meaning roughly "tasty", although "brothy", "meaty", or "savory" have been proposed as alternate translations. The same taste is also known as xiānwè or salty Salt is a dietary mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride that is essential for animal life, but toxic to most land plants. Salt flavor is one of the basic tastes, an important preservative and a popular food seasoning) dishes.^{[citation needed]} However, some vegetables are often used in desserts Dessert is a course that typically comes at the end of a meal, usually consisting of sweet food but sometimes of a strongly-flavored one, such as some cheeses. The word comes from the French language as dessert and this from Old French desservir, "to clear the table" and "to serve." Common desserts include cakes, cookies, and other sweet dishes, such as pumpkin pies and carrot cakes.

Is it a fruit or a vegetable?

In everyday (non-technical) language, the words "fruit" and "vegetable" are mutually exclusive: plant products that are called fruits are hardly ever classified as vegetables, and vice-versa. However, for scientists the word "fruit" also has a precise botanical Botany, plant science, phytology, or plant biology is a branch of biology and is the scientific study of plant life and development. Botany covers a wide range of scientific disciplines that study plants, algae, and fungi including: structure, growth, reproduction, metabolism, development, diseases, chemical properties, and evolutionary meaning, which is considerably different from its common meaning. While peaches The peach is known as a species of Prunus native to China that bears an edible juicy fruit also called a peach. It is a deciduous tree growing to 5–10 m tall, belonging to the subfamily Prunoideae of the family Rosaceae. It is classified with the almond in the subgenus Amygdalus within the genus Prunus, distinguished from the other subgenera by, plums A plum or gage is a stone fruit tree in the genus Prunus, subgenus Prunus. The subgenus is distinguished from other subgenera in the shoots having a terminal bud and the side buds solitary (not clustered), the flowers being grouped 1-5 together on short stems, and the fruit having a groove running down one side, and a smooth stone, and oranges An orange—specifically, the sweet orange—is the citrus Citrus ×sinensis and its fruit. The orange is a hybrid of ancient cultivated origin, possibly between pomelo (Citrus maxima) and tangerine (Citrus reticulata). It is a small flowering tree growing to about 10 m tall with evergreen leaves, which are arranged alternately, of ovate shape are "fruits" in both senses, many items commonly called "vegetables" — such as eggplants The eggplant, aubergine, or brinjal , is a plant of the family Solanaceae (also known as the nightshades) and genus Solanum. It bears a fruit of the same name, commonly used as a vegetable in cooking. As a nightshade, it is closely related to the tomato and potato and is native to India and Sri Lanka, bell peppers Bell pepper is a cultivar group of the species Capsicum annuum. Cultivars of the plant produce fruits in different colors, including red, yellow, green and orange. Bell peppers are sometimes grouped with less pungent pepper varieties as "sweet peppers". Peppers are native to Mexico, Central America and northern South America. Pepper, and tomatoes The tomato is a herbaceous, usually sprawling plant in the Solanaceae or nightshade family, as are its close cousins potatoes, chili peppers, tobacco, eggplant and the poisonous belladonna. It is a perennial, often grown outdoors in temperate climates as an annual. Typically reaching to 1–3 metres (3–10 ft) in height, it has a weak, woody stem — are technically fruits; and so are also most cereals Cereals, grains or cereal grains, are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their fruit seeds (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis) - the endocarp, germ and bran. Cereal grains are grown in greater quantities and provide more food energy worldwide than any other type of crop; they are therefore staple crops. In their natural, and some spices like pepper The genus Piper of the pepper family , including for example: and chili. On the other hand, many items commonly called "fruits" — including figs The Common fig is a large, deciduous shrub or small tree native to southwest Asia and the eastern Mediterranean region (from Greece to Turkey). It grows to a height of 6.9–10 metres (23–33 ft) tall, with smooth grey bark. The leaves are 12–25 centimetres (4.7–9.8 in) long and 10–18 centimetres (3.9–7.1 in) across, and deeply lobed with, pineapples Pineapple is the common name for an edible tropical plant and also its fruit. It is native to the southern part of Brazil, and Paraguay. Pineapple is eaten fresh or canned and is available as a juice or in juice combinations. It is used in desserts, salads, as a complement to meat dishes and in fruit cocktail. While sweet, it is known for its high, and strawberries Garden strawberries are a common variety of strawberry cultivated worldwide. Like other species of Fragaria , it belongs to the family Rosaceae. Technically, it is not a fruit but a false fruit, meaning the fleshy part is derived not from the plant's ovaries (achenes) but from the peg at the bottom of the bowl-shaped hypanthium that holds the — are not fruits in the strict botanical sense.

The question of whether the tomato is a fruit or a vegetable found its way into the United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States, and leads the federal judiciary. It consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight Associate Justices, who are nominated by the President and confirmed with the "advice and consent" of the Senate. Once appointed, Justices effectively in 1893. The court ruled unanimously in Nix v. Hedden Nix v. Hedden, 149 U.S. 304 , was a case in which the United States Supreme Court addressed whether a tomato was classified as a fruit or a vegetable under the Tariff Act of March 3, 1883, which required a tax to be paid on imported vegetables, but not fruit. The case was filed as an action by John Nix, John W. Nix, George W. Nix, and Frank W. Nix that a tomato The tomato is a herbaceous, usually sprawling plant in the Solanaceae or nightshade family, as are its close cousins potatoes, chili peppers, tobacco, eggplant and the poisonous belladonna. It is a perennial, often grown outdoors in temperate climates as an annual. Typically reaching to 1–3 metres (3–10 ft) in height, it has a weak, woody stem 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.

Languages other than English English is a West Germanic language that originated in Anglo-Saxon England. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries and of the United States since the mid 20th century, it has become the lingua franca in many parts of the world. It is often have categories that can be identified with the common English meanings of "fruit" and "vegetable", however, their precise meaning may depend on local culinary traditions as well. For example, in Brazil Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: República Federativa do Brasil) listen (help·info), is a country in South America. It is the fifth largest country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the fifth most populous country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the the avocado The avocado , also known as palta or aguacate (Spanish), butter pear or alligator pear, is a tree native to the Caribbean, Mexico, South America and Central America, classified in the flowering plant family Lauraceae. The name "avocado" also refers to the fruit (technically a large berry) of the kupa shell that contains a pit (hard seed is traditionally consumed with sugar as a dessert or in milk shakes, and hence regarded as a fruit; whereas in other countries (including Mexico The United Mexican States (Spanish: Estados Unidos Mexicanos ), commonly known as Mexico (English: /ˈmɛksɪkoʊ/) (Spanish: México (help·info) [ˈmexiko]), is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the) it is used in salads and dips, and hence considered a vegetable.

Some vegetables defined as different parts of plants

The list of food items called "vegetable" This is a list of vegetables in the culinary sense. This means that the list includes some botanical fruits such as pumpkins, and does not include herbs, spices, cereals and most culinary fruits and culinary nuts. Currently edible fungi are not included on this list is quite long, and includes many different parts of plants:

• Flower bud: broccoli Broccoli is a plant of the cabbage family Brassicaceae (formerly Cruciferae), cauliflower Cauliflower is one of several vegetables in the species Brassica oleracea, in the family Brassicaceae. It is an annual plant that reproduces by seed. Typically, only the head is eaten while the stalk and surrounding thick, green leaves are used in vegetable broth or discarded. Cauliflower is nutritious, and may be eaten cooked, raw or pickled, globe artichokes The Globe Artichoke is a perennial thistle originating in southern Europe around the Mediterranean. It grows to 1.5-2 m tall, with arching, deeply lobed, silvery glaucous-green leaves 50–82 cm long. The flowers develop in a large head from an edible bud about 8–15 cm diameter with numerous triangular scales; the individual florets are purple
• Seeds A seed ( /ˈsiːd/ ), referred to as a kernel in some plants, is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant. The formation of the seed completes: Sweetcorn Sweet corn , also called indian corn, sweetcorn (the only term usual in British English), sugar corn, pole corn, or simply corn, is a variety of maize with a high sugar content. Sweet corn is the result of a naturally-occurring recessive mutation in the genes which control conversion of sugar to starch inside the endosperm of the corn kernel (maize), peas A pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the legume Pisum sativum. Each pod contains several peas. Although it is botanically a fruit, it is treated as a vegetable in cooking. The name is also used to describe other edible seeds from the Fabaceae such as the pigeon pea , the cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), and the seeds from, beans Bean is a common name for large plant seeds of several genera of the family Fabaceae used for human food or animal feed
• Leaves Leaf vegetables, also called potherbs, green vegetables, greens, or leafy greens, are plant leaves eaten as a vegetable, sometimes accompanied by tender petioles and shoots. Although they come from a very wide variety of plants, most share a great deal with other leaf vegetables in nutrition and cooking methods: kale Kale or Borecole is a form of cabbage , green in color, in which the central leaves do not form a head. It is considered to be closer to wild cabbage than most domesticated forms. The species Brassica oleracea contains a wide array of vegetables including broccoli, cauliflower, collard greens, and brussels sprouts. The Cultivar Group Acephala also, collard greens Collards are various loose-leafed cultivars of Brassica oleracea , the same species that produces cabbage and broccoli. The plant is grown for its large, dark-colored, edible leaves and as a garden ornamental, mainly in Brazil, Portugal, the Southern United States, many parts of Africa, Montenegro, Spain and in Kashmir. They are classified in the, spinach Spinach is an edible flowering plant in the family of Amaranthaceae. It is native to central and southwestern Asia. It is an annual plant (rarely biennial), which grows to a height of up to 30 cm. Spinach may survive over winter in temperate regions. The leaves are alternate, simple, ovate to triangular-based, very variable in size from about 2-30, beet greens, turnip greens, endive Endive , Cichorium endivia is a leaf vegetable belonging to the daisy family. Endive can be cooked or used raw in salads, lettuce Lettuce is a temperate annual or biennial plant of the daisy family Asteraceae. It is most often grown as a leaf vegetable. In many countries, it is typically eaten cold, raw, in salads, sandwiches, hamburgers, tacos, and in many other dishes. In some places, including China, lettuce is typically eaten cooked and use of the stem is as important as
• Leaf sheaths: leeks The leek, Allium ampeloprasum var. porrum , also sometimes known as Allium porrum, is a vegetable which belongs, along with the onion and garlic, to the Alliaceae family. Two related vegetables, the elephant garlic and kurrat, are also variant subspecies of Allium ampeloprasum, although different in their uses as food
• 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, bamboo shoots, and ginger
• Underground stem of a plant, also known as a tuber: potatoes, Jerusalem artichokes, sweet potatoes (often called a yam in the USA), also the true yams
• Whole immature plants (sprouts): soybean (moyashi), mung beans, urad, and alfalfa.
• Roots: carrots, parsnips, beets, radishes, turnips, and burdocks.
• 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, breadfruit and avocado, and also the following:
  • Legumes: green beans, snap peas, soybean

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, but applied to any plant. The word is still used in science with that meaning, as in vegetable matter, vegetable kingdom.^[5]. The meaning of "plant grown for food" was not established until the 18th century. ^[6]

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,^[7][8] 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.^[9][10]

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.

Standards

There is a series of ISO standards regarding fruits and vegetables.^[11].

See also

• Food quality
• Food safety
• Fruit
• List of vegetables
• Perennial vegetable
• Vegetarianism
• Veganism
• Herbivore
• Market gardening
• Vegetable carving

Notes

1. ^ "Mushrooms" classified under "Other vegetables". In Inside the Pyramid: What foods are in the vegetable group? Unites States Department of Agriculture. Last modified on 2009-04-15 04:56 PM, accessed on 2009-06-24.
2. ^ "When stuffing round vegetables such as cherry tomatoes and mushroom caps, first cut a small slice off the bottom..." In Cooking Tips: Stuffing Vegetable Hors D'oeuvres at Joy of Cooking site. Bellisio Foods, Inc. (2009). Accessed on 2009-06-24.
3. ^ "Mushrooms" classified under "VEGETABLES". In Suggestions - Vegetables at Cooks.com. Accessed on 2009-06-24].
4. ^ Alternative Crops and Plants: Vegetables and Mushrooms. Unites States Department of Agriculture. Last modified on 2009-06-08, accessed on 2009-06-24.
5. ^ Swedenborg, Emanuel. (2003) Swedenborg Concordance 1888. Kessinger Publishing. p. 502. ISBN 0-7661-3728-7.
6. ^ Ayto, John (1993). Dictionary of Word Origins. New York: Arcade Publishing. ISBN 1-55970-214-1. OCLC 33022699.
7. ^ Woodruff, Sandra L. (1995). Secrets of Fat-Free Cooking : Over 150 Fat-Free and Low-Fat Recipes from Breakfast to Dinner-Appetizers to Desserts. Garden City Park, N.Y: Avery Publishing Group. ISBN 0-89529-668-3. OCLC 33142807.
8. ^ Whitaker, Julian M. (2001). Reversing Diabetes. New York: Warner Books. ISBN 0-446-67658-6. OCLC 45058465.
9. ^ Gruda, N (2005). "Impact of Environmental Factors on Product Quality of Greenhouse Vegetables for Fresh Consumption". Crit. Rev. Plant Sci. 24(3): Taylor & Francis Group. pp. 227-247.
10. ^ Steinmetz KA, Potter JD (1996). "Vegetables, fruit, and cancer prevention: a review". J Am Diet Assoc 96 (10): 1027–39. doi:10.1016/S0002-8223(96)00273-8. PMID 8841165.
11. ^ "67.080: Fruits. Vegetables". International Organization for Standardization. http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_catalogue/catalogue_ics/catalogue_ics_browse.htm?ICS1=67&ICS2=80. Retrieved on 23 April 2009.

Further reading

• Munro, Derek B., Small, E. 1997 Vegetables of Canada. NRC Research Press, Ottawa ISBN 978-0-660-19503-2

External links

• UC Vegetable & Research Information Center
• Michigan Vegetable Information Network
• Indian Vegetables

Categories: Vegetables | Vegan cuisine | Vegetarian cuisine

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