WHAT IS A VEGETABLE?

Click here for the 'Seeds of Eaden' seed shop We all know what vegetables are - the parts of your meal that isn't meat. However, with such a range of shapes, sizes, colours, flavours and plant parts to choose from, just what is it that constitutes a  true vegetable? A vegetable is part of the plant harvested for food such as the seeds, root, stem or leaf of a plant.  It differs from a fruit, which is the swollen ovary of a flowering plant, and therefore contains seeds.  Fruits and vegetables are referred to differently in botanical, culinary and retail terms, and terms are often used interchangeably.  We use a variety of vegetables within our cooking, and utilise many parts of these plants. What vegetables do we eat?      Roots & Storage Roots Beets, cassava (tapioca), horse radish, jicama, potato, parsnip, salsify, sweet, radish, rutabaga and turnip. ·       Leaves & Leafy Heads Brussels sprouts, cabbage, endive, lettuce, kale, lettuce, parsley.  ·      Immature Flower Cluster (Inflorescence) & Stalk (Peduncle) Broccoli, cauliflower. ·       Sunflower Head  Artichoke. ·       Stem Asparagus, bamboo shoots and kohlrabi. ·       Tuber (Modified stem) Jerusalem artichoke, potato, true yams (Dioscorea). ·       Bulb (modified stem) Chives, garlic, onion. ·       Corm (modified stem) Taro, water chestnut. ·       Rhizome Ginger ·       Leafy Stalk (Petiole)      Celery, rhubarb and sweet fennel. For related articles click onto: Differences between vegetables and fruit Record breaking fruit and vegetables Shade loving fruit and nuts The anatomy of vegetables The worlds largest vegetable What is a vegetable? What is the difference between a currant, raisin and a sultana? What is the difference between a marrow and a courgette? What is the difference between a peach and a nectarine? What is the difference between a squash, pumpkin and a gourd? What is the difference between a turnip and a swede? What is the difference between a yam and a sweet potato? What is the difference between a vegetable and a fruit? Which plant has the largest seed? Which plant has the largest leaves? Which plant has the largest flower? Vegetable crop rotation Why don't seedless grapes have seeds?