home > Kitchenware Ingredients Vegetables - Information about Vegetables from Start2Cook.co.uk         1) Cooking Ingredients 2) Information about Herbs and Spices 3) Information about Meat 4) Information about Vegetables 5) Information about Fruit 6) Cooking Techniques 7) Great Recipes 8) Cookware Kits 9) Cooking Utensils 10) Strainers And Colanders 11) Kitchen Gadgets and Gizmos 12) Whisks 13) Splatter Screens 14) Graters 15) Wooden Spoons 16) Can Openers 17) Peelers 18) Paring Knives 19) Pointed Knives 20) Bread Knives 21) Chefs Knives 22) Filleting Knifes 23) Cheese Knives 24) Vegetable Cutters 25) Corkscrews 26) Ice Cube Trays 27) Salt Pots and Pepper Pots 28) Serving Spoons 29) Serving Ladels 30) Slotted Food Turner 31) Fish Slices 32) Measuring Jugs 33) Egg Pancake Rings 34) Pastry Brushes 35) Slotted Spoons 36) Potato Mashers 37) Garlic Presses 38) Vegetable Peelers 39) Egg Slicers 40) Cutting Chopping Boards 41) Ice Cream Scoops 42) Fridge Freezer Thermometers 43) Meat Thermometers 44) Food Safety Covers 45) Corn Cob Holders 46) Food Handling Tongs 47) Cooling Racks 48) Spaghetti Servers 49) Apple Corers 50) Pizza Cutters 51) Spatulas 52) Measuring Spoons 53) Gas Lighters 54) Fizz Keeper Caps 55) Wine Saver Systems 56) Cookie Cutters 57) Timers 58) Skewers 59) Basting Stock Pots 60) Kitchen Weighing Scales 61) Silicon Bakeware 62) Pan Sets 63) Iced Lolly Moulds 64) Oven Trays 65) Cutlery Sets 66) Stock Pots 67) Baking Trays 68) Pressure Cookers 69) Roasting Racks 70) Grill Pans 71) Sandwich Tins 72) Bun Cake Baking Trays 73) Griddles 74) Pizza Crispers 75) POTS AND PANS 76) CUTTING CHOPPING PREPARING 77) STIRING AND SERVING 78) SUPER FAST COOKING 79) ROASTING IN THE OVEN 80) WEIGHING AND MEASURING 81) OVEN BAKING 82) FRIDGE AND FREEZER TOOLS 83) DRINKING AND WINE TOOLS 84) ANTONY WORRALL THOMPSON 85) Food Storage 86) Potato Ricer 87) Popular Products > Aduki Bean The aduki bean is a tiny, reddish-brown bean with a cream coloured seam and sweet, nutty flavour. It is particularly popular in Asian cooking, most often used for sweet dishes including soups, desserts and as a dim sum filling. Aduki beans are regarded as the king of beans in Japan and are prized for their health-giving properties: reputedly benefitting the liver and the kidneys. In Japan and China aduki beans are often cooked, puréed and mixed with sugar to make a chocolately paste which is used to fill cakes and desserts.     > Asparagus Labour-intensive to grow, asparagus are the young shoots of a cultivated lily plant. They're considered to be one of the delicacies of the vegetable world, with a price tag to match, and have a distinct, intense savoury flavour. Sprue is the term for young, very slender asparagus. While French asparagus is purple, the British and American varieties are green. In contrast, Spanish and much Dutch asparagus is white, as it's grown beneath the soil and cut just as the tips emerge. All types pack a nutritional punch, with high levels of vitamins A and C, potassium, iron and calcium, and they're also diuretic, giving urine an unmistakable aroma (which, curiously, not everyone can smell!).     > Aubergine Although it's technically a fruit (a berry, to be exact), the aubergine is used as a vegetable. It's native to South-East Asia, but is grown all over the world, and there are many different varieties, including the bulbous, glossy, deep purple zepplin-like types common to Mediterrean cuisine; the small, tubular Asian types; the small, plump and ivory examples (hence 'eggplant', its name in the United States and Australia); or the scarcely-bigger-than-a-pea varieties grown in Thailand. All varieties share the same bland, mildly smokey flavour and flesh that's spongey when raw but soft when cooked.     > Avocado Although it's technically a fruit, the mild-flavoured avocado is used as a vegetable. Native to central America, there are four main varieties: Hass (considered to be the best), which has a dark, knobbly skin; the pear-shaped, smooth-skinned Ettinger and Fuerte (of which a tiny, baby-sized variety is also available); and the more spherical Nabal. Avocado is also sometimes known as a butter pear, because of its unctuous flesh, or as alligator pear because of the Hass variety's textured skin. Highly nutritious, containing vitamin E, iron, potassium and niacin, it's also unique among fruits in that it contains oil - but most of it is the good, monosaturated type.     > Beetroot A favourite in 1970's British salads (served cooked and pickled in vinegar), beetroot is a root vegetable with dark, purple skin and pink/purple flesh. It has also enjoyed something of a deserved comeback in recent years, its earthy, rich and sweet flavour and vibrant colour lends itself to a variety of both sweet and savoury dishes. Beetroot is a close relative of spinach and chard and has an earthy flavour and a good nutritional content - it's also reckoned to be a good detoxifier.     > Broad Bean A member of the legume family, broad beans are pretty hardy and adaptable - they grow in most soils and climates. They're a great source of protein and carbohydrates, as well as vitamins A, B1 and B2. In the US, they're known as fava beans.     > Broccoli Like cabbage and cauliflower, broccoli is a brassica and is sometimes known by its Italian name, calebrese. It has tight clusters of deep green buds and thick, edible stems and was developed from the more loosely packed purple sprouting broccoli. There's little to choose between the two in terms of flavour or nutrition.     > Brussels Sprouts The quintessential Christmas dinner veg, Brussels sprouts are throught to have been cultivated in Belgium in the 16th century -hence the name. Although they're related to cabbage - they even look like a miniature, compact version - they have a sweet, nutty flavour, which some people can find bitter. They grow in multiple rows along a thick, central stalk.     > Cabbage The cabbage, or brassica, family is huge, and includes everything from the familiar red, white or green varieties with tightly packed leaves, to cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts as well as pak choi, popular in Asian cookery. The round, crinkle-leafed Savoy cabbage and the pale, lozenge-shaped Chinese leaf are considered to be two of the best to cook with. The flavour of cabbage varies from type to type, ranging from savoury to gently sweet, but one thing they all have in common is a rank smell if overcooked, so brief cooking is key.     > Cannellini Bean Slightly kidney-shaped with squarish ends, cannellini beans are from Italy and are creamy white in colour. When cooked, they have a fluffy texture and a slightly nutty, mild flavour.     > Capers Capers are the small flower buds of the Capparis shrub, which grows in the Mediterranean. As they're picked by hand they're fairly pricey but they're a versatile store cupboard ingredient, and are good for adding a distinctive sour/salty flavour to many savoury dishes.     > Carrot The carrot, with its distinctive bright orange colour, is one of the most versatile root vegetables around - a result of its sweet flavour, which means it can be used raw or cooked, in sweet or savoury dishes. Up to the Middle Ages, all carrots were purple - the orange variety was first developed in 16th-century Holland by patriotic growers who bred it in tribute to the king, William I of Orange. That old wive's tale about carrots helping you see in the dark isn't entirely off-target; they're very high in betacarotene, which is an important nutrient in maintaining healthy eyes.     > Cauliflower A brassica, like cabbage and broccoli, cauliflower is a mass of tiny, tightly packed flower heads (called curds), which grow from a thick central stem to form a single, round head, cupped by green leaves. It has a firm, almost waxy texture, and a mild, delicate flavour. Most cauliflowers are white, but it's also possible to find green and purple varieties, as well as the sweeter Romanesco cauliflower, with its distinctive pointed florets. Like all brassicas, cauliflower smells very unpleasant if overcooked, so brief cooking is essential.     > Celeriac The unsung hero of the vegetable world, knobbly, odd-shaped celeriac has a subtle, celery-like flavour, with nutty overtones. Try it as mash, in big-flavoured, slow-cook dishes, or in its classic form, and as they do in France, as a remoulade.     > Celery A collection of long, thick, juicy stalks around a central, tender heart, celery ranges in colour from white to green - the darker its colour, the stonger its flavour. It has a very mildly bitter taste and a texture that's both crisp and succulent and is eaten either raw or cooked.     > Chicory Also known as endive, chicory is a forced crop, grown in complete darkness, which accounts for its blanched white, yellow-tipped leaves. It has a distinctive, cigar-like shape, about 12cm long, and the crisp leaves have a mildly bitter flavour.     > Courgette The courgette is a variety of cucurtbit, which means it's from the same family as cucumber, squash and melon. It is the most popular vegetable of the squash family, being extremely versatile, tender and easy to cook. Just don't boil them! They have a deep green skin with firm pale flesh and are also known as zucchini.     > Cougette Flower The edible flower of the courgette, or zucchini bush. There are two sorts of flower: the flower with the immature vegetable attached is the female and the more eyecatching flower on the long stalk is the male. It is the male flower that is sold in bunches and used in Italian cooking.     > Jalapeno Pepper A member of the capsicum family, jalapeño chillies range from moderately to very hot. Originating from South America, they are about 4cm long, dark green when young and scarlet when ripe, and are sold both fresh and tinned. Dried and smoked, they are known as chipotle, and take on a deep, sweet flavour that some say has a slight chocolate note. Chipotles are also available pickled.     > Jerusalem Artichoke This vegetable is not truly an artichoke but a variety of sunflower with a lumpy, brown-skinned tuber that often resembles a ginger root. Contrary to what the name implies, this vegetable has nothing to do with Jerusalem but is derived instead from the Italian word for sunflower, girasole. The white flesh of this vegetable is nutty, sweet and crunchy and is a good source of iron.     > Kale A member of the cabbage family, kale comes in two forms: kale, which has smooth leaves, and curly kale, which has crinkly leaves. Curly kale is the most common of the two. Instead of forming a head, the leaves grow in a loose rosette at the top of a stem. The leaves are green, sometimes tinged with blue or purple, and their flavour is strong and distinct.     > Leek Like garlic and onion, leeks are a member of the allium family, but have their own distinct flavour - quite harsh when raw (only very young leeks are eaten this way) but, when cooked, very delicate, like a mild onion but with a hint of sweetness. Two thirds of their length is white and firm, and this is the part that is mainly eaten. The rest of the third is made up of the leaves (flags), most of which is discarded. Leeks are very versatile and work well cooked in various recipes or as a side dish. Two of the world's most famous soups, Scotland's cock-a-leekie and France's crème vichyssoise, are based around them.     > Lettuce Lettuce are available in a vast number of varieties, and are either crisp or floppy, growing from a central stalk to form a spherical or lozenge-like head. Most of them have green leaves, some with red tinges, and they all have a delicate, clean flavour. Lettuce is mainly eaten raw in salads, though you can also add them to soups or braise them as a side dish. Crisp leaves work well with robustly flavoured dressings, while the floppier types need to be partnered with something more subtle. Among the most commonly available floppy lettuces in the UK are Round, Butterhead, Lollo Rosso, Escarole, Oak Leaf and Little Gem. Crisp include Iceberg, Cos, Curly Endive (also known as Frisée), Web's Wonder and Romaine.     > Mushroom The mushroom is a fungus which comes in a wide range of varieties that belong to two distinct types: cultivated and wild. In myth and folklore mushrooms have always had something of a mystical connection: elves and fairies are often depicted sitting atop them, and they are known to spring up seemingly overnight in 'fairy rings'. On a more practical level, many mushrooms and fungi can be poisonous or hallucinogenic. If foraging in the forest, it's important to know what you're looking for.     > New Potatoes New potatoes have thin, wispy skins and a crisp, waxy texture. They are young potatoes and unlike their fully grown counterparts, they keep their shape once cooked and cut. They are also sweeter because their sugar has not yet converted into starch, and are therefore particularly suited to salads. Jersey Royals are the best known variety, and their appearance in late April heralds the beginning of the summer. Other varieties include Pentland Javelin and salad potatoes, which are best eaten cold.     > Okra Originally from Africa, okra is now widely used in cuisines such as Caribbean, Creole, Cajun and Indian. It's also known as bhindi or lady's fingers, in reference to the long, elegantly tapering shape. Ridged along its length, the green, slightly fuzzy pod contains rows of edible seeds that release a mucilaginous (sticky, viscous) liquid when chopped and cooked, which has led to it being used to thicken soup and stew recipes, such as Cajun gumbo, but it's also served whole as a side dish. Its flavour is quite subtle, so it benefits from being cooked with strong, spicy ingredients.     > Olive Widely grown all over the Mediterranean, where they've been cultivated since biblical times, olives are mainly green and black, but can also come in many different shades in between. The difference in colour reflects not their variety, but the stage of ripening when picked. Green olives are harvested in October or November, when still young. Black olives are picked in December, by which time they have matured and are fully ripe. Most of the crop is used to make olive oil, and the remainder is preserved by pickling, marinading or sometimes salting, to be eaten as they are or used in cooking.     > Onion Onions are endlessly versatile and an essential ingredient in countless recipes. Native to Asia, these underground bulbs are prized all over the world for the depth and flavour that they add to savoury dishes. Dry onions are fully matured, with juicy flesh and dry, papery skin and have a pungent flavour that becomes wonderfully sweet upon lengthy cooking. Varieties of onion differ in size, strength and colour. The yellow onion is the most commonly known variety; it has pale golden skin, greenish-white flesh and a strong taste. Red onions are an attractive, milder alternative to the yellow onion with their shiny purple skin and red-tinged flesh. Shallots are a sub-species of onion; they are small and boast a delicate flavour integral to French cooking. Spring onions are immature onions pulled before the bulb is fully formed, and can be recognised by their long green leaves. Like red onions, they are fairly mild and often used raw in salads. When chopped, onions produce a volatile, sulphur-rich oil that mak     > Pak Choi This member of the cabbage family has a number of different names, including bok choy, horse's ear, Chinese celery cabbage and white mustard cabbage. Its structure looks like a squat celery, with either white or very pale green short, chunky stalks and glossy, deep green leaves. The texture of both leaves and stalks is crisp, and the flavour is somewhere between mild cabbage and spinach. If very young it can be eaten raw in salads, but is best when briefly cooked.     > Parsnip The fact that the parsnip is a member of the carrot family comes as no surprise - it looks just like one, aside from its creamy white colour. It has an earthy but sweet flavour and is great used in hearty winter roasts, soups and stews.     > Peas A type of legume, peas grow inside long, plump pods. As is the case with all types of legume, their sugars start to turn to starch as shortly after they're picked, so they are best eaten just-picked. Frozen peas are put on ice very soon after being picked (within three hours) and the flavour can be superior to that of fresh peas harvested a couple of days previously.     > Pepper Sometimes called bell peppers or capsicums, these sweet, mild peppers come in variety of colours, and are related to chillies. Whatever colour they are, they're all essentially the same variety, but have been allowed to ripen to different degrees; green are the youngest and sharpest, followed by yellow, orange and then red, which are the sweetest. You can also find longer, pointed examples, sometimes called Romano, which are sweeter still, as well as black peppers, which have a flavour similar to the green variety - when they're cooked they turn green, so it's best to use them raw if you want to keep their striking colour.     > Potato The world's favourite root vegetable, the potato comes in innumerable varieties. A member of the nightshade family, like tomatoes and aubergines, it originated in South America and has been grown in Europe since the 16th century. Shapes vary from small ('finger') potatoes like Anya to large, round types like the King Edward. Most have pale brown skins and cream or yellow flesh, but some speciality varieties are differently coloured, like the Purple Peruvian. 'Waxy' potatoes such as Charlotte are great used in salads, while 'floury' potatoes such as Maris Piper are ideal for mash and baking.     > Pumpkin Pumpkins are the most famous of all the winter squashes, and are most associated with Halloween lanterns. Inside the hard orange or yellow skin, the bright orange flesh is sweet and honied. They are a particularly good source of fibre, as well as a range of vitamins and minerals.     > Purple Sprouting Broccoli This untidy-looking, colourful cousin of broccoli can be used in much the same way. Leafier and deeper in colour than calabrese, it adds vibrancy and crunch to vegetable dishes.     > Radicchio An Italian relative of chicory, radicchio is a forced crop and has distinctive red and white leaves. The exact nature of its colouring depends upon how much light it has been exposed to when growing - if none at all, the contrast between the white ribs and the deep red leaves will be very strong. If it has seen some light, the white and red will be softened with patches of green or copper. Shaped like a small cabbage, it's mainly used in salads, and its bitter flavour contrasts well with milder leaves such as rocket. The leaves themselves are tender but the heads are sturdy enough to be cut and grilled.     > Radish The root of a member of the mustard family, radishes have a peppery flavour and a crisp, crunchy texture. Among the most popular varieties are the small, cherry-sized common variety which has a red skin and white flesh (the French Breakfast radish is a variation on this type, and has an elongated shape with a deep pink skin that fades to white at the roots). You can also find black radishes, popular in eastern Europe, which are more strongly flavoured, as well as large white mooli or diakon radishes, which are shaped like carrots. They are popular in Asian cookery and have a very mild flavour. Radishes are rich is folic acid and potassium and are a good source of vitamin B6, magnesium, riboflavin, and calcium.     > Runner Bean Runner beans have been growing in South America for over 2,000 years, and are a popular garden vegetable in Britain too. Stronger in flavour and coarser in texture than green beans, they are also much longer and have attractive purple beans inside the pods.     > Salsify A root vegetable belonging to the dandelion family, salsify is also known as the oyster plant because of its oystery taste when cooked. The root is similar in appearance to a long, thin parsnip, with creamy white flesh and a thick skin. In the same way as many root vegetables, salsify can be boiled, mashed or used in soups and stews.     > Samphire Though there are two types of samphire - marsh and rock - only marsh samphire is widely available. Marsh samphire has vibrant green stalks, similar to baby asparagus, with a distinctively crisp and salty taste. It can be used raw in salad, though it tends to be very salty so it is more often boiled or steamed for a few minutes. Rock samphire has a rather unpleasant smell and flavour. Occasionally you may also find jars of pickled samphire in gourmet shops.     > Shallot Related to the onion (as opposed to being a younger version of it), shallots grow in clusters at the leaf base. Most varieties are smaller than onions, have finer layers and contain less water. The flavour of a shallot is much milder and sweeter than that of an onion, so if a recipe specifies shallots, substituting onions won't give the same results. Their lower water content means they need to be cooked more gently than onions.     > Spinach Used in almost every cuisine across the world, spinach is an enormously popular green vegetable. The leaves can be either flat or slightly ruffled, and are a bright green when young, deepening to a more intense colour when older. The bitter flavour is distinctive - you either love it or hate it - and particularly complements dairy products and eggs. The milder, young leaves can be eaten raw in a salad, while the older ones are usually cooked (spinach has one of the shortest cooking times of all vegetables). It reduces very dramatically during cooking; a 450g bag will be just enough for two people.     > Spring Onion Also known as scallions or green onions, spring onions are in fact very young onions, harvested before the bulb has had a chance to swell. Both the long, slender green tops and the small white bulb are edible, and are good either raw or cooked. They have a similar flavour to onions, but are much milder.     > Swede A member of the cabbage family, the swede is often confused with the turnip, though they look quite different. It's also known as yellow turnip, Swedish turnip and Russian turnip and, in America, rutabaga. In Scotland, where it is known as neeps, swede is the traditional accompaniment to haggis on Burns night. Swede has a round shape and a purple-green skin, and the flesh is yellowy-orange, with a sweet, earthy flavour. It disintegrates fairly easily if overcooked, so always keep to cooking times.     > Sweet Potato Sweet potatoes have a creamy texture and a sweet-spicy flavour that makes them ideal for savoury dishes. There are two types, one with bright orange flesh, the other with pale cream flesh. Sweet potatoes are native to the tropical Americas and are sometimes referred to as 'yams' in the USA. These tubers are rich in fibre, vitamins A, C and B6, and an excellent source of carbohydrates. The orange-fleshed variety are also rich in betacarotene. Sweet potatoes have traditionally been baked, roasted or mashed, but they can also be added to risotto, pasta or curry.     > Sweetcorn Also known as corn on the cob, sweetcorn is composed of rows of tightly packed golden yellow kernels, growing along a tough central core. When ripe, the kernels are sweet and juicy, and are best cooked simply, with a little butter. Like peas, the natural sugars in the kernels turn to starch quite quickly, which makes the kernels tougher and less sweet, so it should be eaten as fresh as possible.     > Swiss Chard Also known as just plain chard, swiss chard has large, fleshy but tender deep green leaves and thick, crisp stalks. Although they're unrelated, chard is similar to spinach, but with a stronger, more assertive (some think, bitter) flavour. Different types of chard have different coloured stalks and ribs - some are white, some are a golden orange and some are red (called ruby or rhubarb chard) - there's even rainbow chard. There's very little difference in taste, but ruby and rhubarb chard can have a slightly stronger flavour.     > Tomato A member of the nightshade family (along with aubergines, peppers and chillies), tomatoes are in fact a fruit, but their affinity for other savoury ingredients means that they are usually classed as a vegetable. Tomatoes originated in western South America, crossed the Atlantic to Spain with the conquistadors in the 16th century, but only finally caught on in northern Europe in the 19th century. Today they're one of the most important ingredients available, and are especially indispensible in Mediterranean cookery. The skin, flesh and seeds can all be eaten, but the green leaves are toxic, so should always be discarded. The number of varieties run into the thousands, and they vary in size from the huge beefsteak to tiny cherry tomatoes, but most have a sweet, gently tangy flavour and are good both raw and cooked.     > Turnip Turnips are creamy-white with a lovely purple, red or greenish upper part where the taproot has been exposed to sunlight. Like swedes, turnips are a root vegetable and member of the cabbage family. They are a good source of vitamin C and, before the arrival of the potato, turnips were one of the main sources of sustenance for the English peasantry. Baby turnips are the size of large radishes and have a sweet, delicate taste, while winter turnips are more pungent and peppery. Turnip leaves or 'greens' can also be eaten boiled, steamed, stir-fried or grated into salads.     Start2Cook.co.uk is a Start2Cook Limited online store based in Warwickshire, UK. 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