VEGETABLES

vegetables - Introduction

Be nice now! This is a cookbook, not a biology class.

I know tomatoes are fruits, even if the US government passed a law saying they're vegetables.
Let's see what Wikipedia has to say about the subject.

Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food.
This original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems, leaves, roots, and seeds.

The alternate definition of the term vegetable is applied somewhat arbitrarily, often by culinary and cultural tradition. It may exclude foods derived from some plants that are fruits, flowers, nuts, and cereal grains, but include some fruits such as tomatoes, flowers such as broccoli, and seeds such as pulses.

The word vegetable is also used in scientific and technical contexts with a different and much broader meaning, namely of "related to plants" in general, edible or not—as in vegetable matter, vegetable kingdom, vegetable origin, etc.

MY COMMENTS:

Hundreds of different fruits and vegetables. Millions of recipes to choose from.

I usually keep it fairly simple.

Raw vegetables do occasionally visit my table 'as is' or in raw salads.
Soups and stews are the most common preparation methods.
There is the occasional casserole, but those are usually cooked in advance to limit the oven-time.
One kind of fruit or vegetable with a meal can be very nice.
Soups usually have mixed veggies and I frequently use frozen vegetable mixes.
I do use starches—potatoes, rice and/or pasta—with some frequency, but I also have many meals without them.

Health implications

For many non-vegetarians, 'veggies' are just a side dish that accompanies the main meat/seafood dish, and some would gladly forego them if they were allowed to. And yet, vegetables are essential for our health (and regularity!)

Vegetarians have long proven that adults can live a healthy life without eating meat, although it does require consuming a wide variety of vegetable food sources. The opposite, eating only meat, is not nearly as healthy.

sub-divisions

There are many different vegetables available, even in small-town America. As a result, this is the largest listing in this website. I gathered some vegetable families together for easier referencing.

I do try to keep the recipes mostly for the main ingredient, but at times that is a bit artificial. I don't always prepare my vegetables separately, on the contrary. One-skillet stews are a big favorite of mine: everything goes together in the same pot, fewer dishes to wash. Because those vegetables are already mentioned in those earlier recipes, you will find many references to recipes already included in different chapters.

Wikipedia

Sub-categories

CHAPTER 6.1. fruits

These are the fruits that are not treated as culinary vegetables.

pomes
include any fruit which has its seeds arranged in a star-like pattern. These fruits may be crunchy and have an inedible core.
1. apples
2. pears
3. quince
4. etc.
drupes
represent any fruit (even berry-sized) that has only one seed or one hard capsule containing seeds.
1. apricots
2. peaches
3. mango
4. et.
citruses
represent any fruit that has a wagon wheel-like cross section. These fruits may also be mostly sour and acidic.
1. grapefruits
2. lemons, limes
3. oranges
4. etc.
berries
represent any fruit that is berry-sized ("berry-sized," meaning you could hold many in the palms of your hands), unless they are a Pome or Drupe, which go in their respective categories.
1. blackberries
2. blueberries
3. cranberries
4. etc.
melons
represent any fruit in the cucurbitaceae family that are not treated as a culinary vegetable.
1. canary melon = yellow flesh
2. cantaloupe = orange flesh
3. watermelon = pink to purple flesh
4. etc.
Tropical and tropical-like fruit
are any culinary fruits that do not fit in any other category.
1. banana
2. jackfruit
3. pineapple
4. etc.

A few preparations that are common to most fruits:

raw fruits
raw fruits in salads
dried fruits = dehydrated fruits. Commercialized fruit has lots of preservatives.
candied fruits = packed in dry sugar or soaked in a concentrated sugar solution.
fruit candy = fruits made with whole fruits, fruit pieces or fruit juices.
fruit sauces
fruit preserves
- = boiled with or without sugar for long-term storage.
- jam, jelly, preserves, compote, marmalade, chutney
fruit juices & drinks
fermented & distilled fruit drinks e.g. hard apple cider vs. apple jack