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Vegetables

Vegetable is a culinary term. Its definition has no scientific value and is somewhat arbitrary and subjective. All parts of an herbaceous plant that humans eat whole or in part is a vegetable, except for culinary fruits and arguably grains, nuts, herbs, and spices. Also, mushrooms are commonly considered vegetables, despite belonging to a different biological kingdom, namely fungi (which used to be classified as plants).

Vegetables include leaf vegetables (for example lettuce), stem vegetables (asparagus), root vegetables (carrot), flower vegetables (broccoli), bulbs (garlic) and botanical fruits such as cucumbers, squashes, pumpkins, capsicums, as well as legumes such as green beans, and fleshy, immature seeds such as those of peas or beans.

Importance of Vegetables

Vegetables are eaten in a variety of ways as part of main meals and as snacks. The nutrient content of different types varies considerably. With the exception of pulses, vegetables provide little protein and fat. Vegetables contain water soluble vitamins like vitamin B and vitamin C, fat soluble vitamins including vitamin A and vitamin D, and also contain carbohydrates and minerals.

Colour of vegetables

The green colour of leafy vegetables is due to the presence of the green pigment chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is affected by pH. In acid conditions it changes to olive green, and in alkali conditions it becomes bright green. Some of the acids are released in steam when vegetables are cooking, particularly if they are cooked without a cover.

The yellow/orange color of vegetables are due to the presence of carotenoids, which are also affected by normal cooking processes or changes in pH.

The red/blue color of vegetables (e.g. blackberries and red cabbage) are due to anthocyanins, which are sensitive to changes in pH. At neutral pH they are purple, at acid pH are red, and at alkali pH they are blue. They are very soluble in water.

Source: Wikipedia.org