Vegetables

The term "vegetable" generally means the edible parts of plants. The definition of the word is traditional rather than scientific, however, and therefore the usage of the word is somewhat arbitrary and subjective, as it is determined by individual cultural customs of food selection and food preparation. Some vegetables, such as carrots, bell peppers and celery, are eaten either raw or cooked; while others are eaten only when cooked. Botanically speaking, fruits are fleshy reproductive organs of plants, the ripened ovaries containing one or many seeds. Thus, many botanical fruits are not edible at all, and some are actually extremely poisonous.

Mushrooms belong to the biological kingdom Fungi, not the plant kingdom, and yet they are also generally considered to be vegetables, at least in the retail industry. Nuts, seeds, grains, herbs, spices and culinary fruits are usually not considered to be vegetables, even though all of them are edible parts of plants. In general, vegetables are those plant parts that are regarded as being suitable to be part of savory or salted dishes, rather than sweet dishes.However there are many exceptions, such as the pumpkin, which can be eaten as a vegetable in a savory dish, but which can also be sweetened and served in a pie as a dessert.

In a culinary sense however, the word "fruit" is applied only to those botanical fruits or similar plant parts which are both edible and palatable, and which in addition are considered suitable to be a sweet or dessert food, such as strawberries, peaches, plums, etc. n contrast to this, a number of edible botanical fruits, including the tomato, the eggplant, and the bell pepper, are not considered to be sweet or dessert foods, are not routinely used with sugar, but instead are almost always used as part of a savory dish, and are salted. This is the reason that they are labeled as "vegetables". Thus in a scientific context, a plant part may correctly be termed a "fruit", even though it is used in cooking or food preparation as a vegetable.

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. Cauliflower can be roasted, boiled, fried, steamed or eaten raw. When cooking, the outer leaves and thick stalks are removed, leaving only the florets. The leaves are also edible, but are most often discarded. The florets should be broken into similar-sized pieces so they are cooked evenly. After eight minutes of steaming, or five minutes of boiling, the florets should be soft, but not mushy (depending on size). Stirring while cooking can break the florets into smaller, uneven pieces. Cauliflower is often served with a cheese sauce, as in the dish cauliflower cheese.