vegetable

Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The 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 and courgettes, flowers such as broccoli, and seeds such as pulses.
Originally, vegetables were collected from the wild by hunter-gatherers and entered cultivation in several parts of the world, probably during the period 10,000 BC to 7,000 BC, when a new agricultural way of life developed. At first, plants which grew locally would have been cultivated, but as time went on, trade brought exotic crops from elsewhere to add to domestic types. Nowadays, most vegetables are grown all over the world as climate permits, and crops may be cultivated in protected environments in less suitable locations. China is the largest producer of vegetables and global trade in agricultural products allows consumers to purchase vegetables grown in faraway countries. The scale of production varies from subsistence farmers supplying the needs of their family for food, to agribusinesses with vast acreages of single-product crops. Depending on the type of vegetable concerned, harvesting the crop is followed by grading, storing, processing, and marketing.
Vegetables can be eaten either raw or cooked and play an important role in human nutrition, being mostly low in fat and carbohydrates, but high in vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber. Many nutritionists encourage people to consume plenty of fruit and vegetables, five or more portions a day often being recommended.

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  1. Ellie

    What one vegetable do you dislike the most?

    I was reading an article yesterday that listed a number of things this person didn't like about x, y or z... It got me thinking. When I ate meat, I used to hate eating gammon. With fish and seafood it was sardines or more accurately still is, I can't stand even the smell of them. So I was...
  2. Yorky

    Recipe Chicken Chop Suey

    Ingredients 400 g chicken breast, sliced 1 tsp baking soda 6 garlic cloves, pureed 1 tblsp oyster sauce 1⁄2 tblsp soy sauce 1⁄2 tsp salt (or to taste) 1⁄2 teaspoon cornflour olive oil 200 gm snow peas, chopped 200 gm bok choy, chopped (separate the leaves from the stems) 200 gm enoki...
  3. Yorky

    The Size of Vegetables

    Another thread started me thinking of this. Many recipes that I've come across in books and on the net tend to be very specific about how much meat/seafood should be included by weight but then specify a large or a medium onion, a small cauliflower, a medium potato, etc. (I do it myself!). In...
  4. C

    Recipe Veggie Baked Eggs

    Ingredients 80g spinach, washed 150g chopped tomatoes 1 tbsp of olive oil or coconut oil 1 tsp chilli flakes 4 British Lion eggs About 80g of mushrooms – a mix of wild mushrooms is nice – sliced or quartered 1 dessert spoon Parmesan, freshly grated 1 tsp lightly toasted pine nuts, chopped...
  5. SatNavSaysStraightOn

    Recipe Creamy Vegetable Pie with Eggs

    This makes use of a creamy cauliflower sauce which can be found here (https://www.cookingbites.com/threads/vegan-creamy-cauliflower-sauce.8330) but there is no reason as to why you could not use a cheese sauce if you wanted to. You can use whatever veg you want that can be sliced along with...
  6. Caribbean girl

    Recipe Egg and Vegetable Pasta

    Source: http://www.healthyfoodguide.com.au/recipes/2012/march/egg-and-vegetable-pasta Ingredients: 320 g penne pasta 2 cups frozen peas, thawed 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed, halved lengthways, cut into 5 cm lengths 3 medium zucchinis, trimmed, coarsely grated 3 medium carrots, coarsely grated 2...
  7. Yorky

    Another Strange Vegetable

    Occasionally my wife arrives from the market with some strange vegetable/fruit. This evening it was this: Is it some strange cucumber/courgette?
  8. Yorky

    Recipe Chicken Chow Mein

    Ingredients 350 g chicken, sliced 3 teaspoons cornflour 2 tablespoons soy sauce 2 tablespoons oyster sauce 2 tablespoons rice wine (or sherry) 1 teaspoon sugar 1 teaspoon light olive oil 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 small onion, finely chopped 6 garlic cloves, grated or pureed 300 g egg noodles...
  9. SatNavSaysStraightOn

    What have you grown in your veg plot or garden this year?

    I'm just at the start of the growing season here in the South east of Australia. I'm at an altitude of 800m so things are about a month behind many other areas such as Canberra (the capital of Australia). I've just sown the first round of runner beans, borlotti beans, peas, onions, garlic...
  10. SatNavSaysStraightOn

    Recipe Bean and Vegetable Casserole with Savoury Herb Dumplings

    OK, I'll confess now. I haven't made the Savoury Herb Dumplings this way for a long time, usually I just use a savoury scone mixture and add herbs to it, making more of a cobbler. But given that there is a certain competition going on and this is such an easy recipe that can be added to...
  11. epicuric

    Recipe Wholewheat fusilli with roasted vegetables

    Wholewheat fusilli with roasted vegetables I found this dish at a local gastlypub a few years ago. It was one of the only things on the menu that didn't scream "frozen then microwaved" and I liked it so much it has become a staple dish at home. It's incredibly quick and simple, very healthy...
  12. swalia

    Vegetable Pakoras

    You can try vegetable pakoras. I am sharing the recipe below: 1 cup Chickpea Flour (Besan) 2 tsp Oil 1 tsp Ground Cumin 1 1/2 tsp Salt 1 -2 Chopped Green Chillies (Jalapeno) 1/2 cup Water 1 Potato 1 small Cauliflower 2 Cabbage 5 leaves Spinach sliced 1 1/2 cup Sliced Onion How to make...
  13. Karalyne

    Vegetable Fries

    I have made home made french fries for years and they are always delicious. However, I would also like to try frying some other vegetables as well in the deep fryer, such as carrots, cucumbers and butternut squash. I'd like to cut them in stick form like one normally does for making homemade...
  14. cupcakechef

    Peppers and their introduction to Japan

    Slightly off topic from the Cooking Bites Recipe Challenge, but here is an article about the history of peppers in Japan. I find things like this fascinating - just learning about when certain foods were introduced to the country interests me! Also, just a fun fact - green peppers are the most...
  15. Caribbean girl

    What vegetable do you use more than any other?

    With most of the meals I cook, I always do vegetables on the side. There are some vegetables that I tend to cook on a regular basis, although I would sometimes buy different ones from time to time for a change. A vegetable that I always have on hand is carrot. I find that I use this...
  16. winterybella

    Recipe Vegetable Curry with Parsnip and Cauliflower

    So here is another recipe that calls for the parsnip, I am yet to find around here and it's vegetarian, so no one is left out. If ever I get to try this, I suspect I'll have to do some substituting but it's worth sharing I'd say. Vegetarian Preparation time:10 minutes to 15 minutes Cooking...
  17. Caribbean girl

    Buying frozen vegetables

    There was a time not so long ago, when I would sometimes buy and use frozen vegetables. These frozen vegetables used to come in very handy when I was in a hurry to cook a meal, since it saved time in having to soak and cut up other vegetables. I could usually get a package of these with a...
  18. SatNavSaysStraightOn

    Difference between sautéing and sweating vegetables

    Following on from a thread about why you sweat vegetables, it came to my attention that people don't seem to know what the difference is, or in fact what either sautéing or sweating are. So I have found an article that explains the two processes from a culinary point of view. Good so far...
  19. Diane Lane

    Recipe Coleslaw with Purple Cabbage

    I was just posting about Christmas dinner side dishes in another thread here, and wanted to share the recipe I used to make the coleslaw. I looked around for a nice recipe that would be pretty easy to make, and found it on the Food Network, by Robert Irvine. I used to watch one of his...
  20. SatNavSaysStraightOn

    Recipe Vegetable Moussaka

    Vegetable Moussaka Ingredients 2 medium aubergines approximately 450g(1lb), sliced into 1 cm thick slices 75ml (3fl oz) olive oil 200g (7oz) green lentils 2 onions, 1 quartered and 1 finely chopped 1 small bunch thyme 1 bay leaves 1 tsp vegetable bouillon powder or a vegetable stock cube 1...
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