Classification of Vegetables by Parts, Chemical Composition and Nutritive Value

Vegetables

• Vegetables are plants or parts of plants like leaves, fruits, tubers, roots, bulbs, stems, shoots, and flowers used in dishes either raw or cooked.
• Vegetables give color, texture, and flavor to meals and provide vitamins and minerals.
• Eating vegetables provides health benefits, such as:
  • Reduced risk of some chronic diseases, including heart attack and stroke
  • Protection against certain types of cancers
  • Reduced obesity and type 2 diabetes
  • Lowered blood pressure
  • Reduced risk of developing kidney stones
  • Help in decreasing bone loss

Nutrition

• Vegetables are important sources of many nutrients, including:
  • Potassium
  • Dietary fiber
  • Folate
  • Vitamin A and C
• A diet rich in potassium may help maintain normal blood pressure.
• Dietary fiber helps reduce blood cholesterol levels and may lower the risk of heart disease.
• Fiber helps in reducing constipation and diverticulosis.
• Folate helps the body form red blood cells.
• Vitamins A keeps eyes and skin healthy and helps to protect against infections.
• Vitamins C helps heal cuts and wounds, and keeps teeth and gums healthy.

Classification of Vegetables

• According to parts:
  • Gourd family
  • Seeds and pods
  • Roots and tubers
  • Cabbage family
  • Onion family
  • Leafy greens
  • Stalks, stems, and shoots
  • Mushrooms
• According to chemical composition:
  • Carbohydrates-rich vegetables: seeds, roots, tubers
  • Protein-rich vegetables: legumes, peas, beans
  • Fat-rich vegetables: nuts, olives, avocado
  • High moisture content: mushrooms, tomatoes, radish, green leafy vegetables
• According to nutritive value:
  • Vitamin A-rich vegetables: green leafy and yellow fruits and vegetables
  • Vitamin C-rich vegetables: yellow vegetables
  • Vitamin B (complex)-rich vegetables: legumes, peas, beans

Chemical Components

• Sugar (Fructose): the natural sugar that provides sweetness in vegetables
• Glutamic Acid: found in large amounts in young and fresh vegetables, forms a product called monosodium glutamate when combined with salt
• Sulfur compounds: give the characteristic strong flavor and odor of some vegetables like onions, leeks, garlic, chives, cabbage, and broccoli

Color Components

• Chlorophyll: a fat-soluble compound responsible for the green color of plants
• Carotenoids: the yellow, orange to red soluble pigments found in plants
• Flavonoids:
  • Anthoxanthin: responsible for the yellow pigment
  • Anthocyanins: responsible for red and blue to violet pigments

Factors to Consider in Choosing Good Quality Vegetables

• Freshness: crisp and bright color, absence of decay or insect manifestation, no mechanical damage or injury
• Right degree of maturity
• Variety: different varieties differ in color, shape, texture, and sometimes flavor

Kitchen Cuts

• Chopping: done with a straight, downward cutting motion
• Chiffonade (shredding): making very fine parallel cuts
• Dicing: producing cube shapes
• Diamond (lozenge): thinly slicing and cutting into strips of appropriate width
• Mincing: producing very fine cuts usually for onions and garlic
• Julienne and baton net: making long rectangular cuts
• Pays Anne (Fermi ere): making curved or uneven cuts of the same thickness
• Rondelle: making cylindrical cuts
• Bias: making diagonal cuts
• Oblique, or roll cuts: making diagonal cuts by rolling the long cylindrical vegetables

Hand Tools and Equipment

• Tool: a handheld device that aids in completing a task
• Equipment: the implements used in an operation or activity
• Importance of learning different tools, equipment, utensils, and their uses to make the process easier and more efficient