What are Vegetables?
While fruits are typically known as the part of a plant that contains the seed, vegetables can be made up of any edible part of a plant. Vegetables can be made of the roots or bulbs of a plant, as is the case with carrots, radishes, turnips, beets, potatoes, yams, rutabagas, onions, and garlic (and a handful of others). Vegetables could be from the flowers of a plant, as is the case with broccoli, artichokes and cauliflower.
The fruit of a plant could be a vegetable too, like tomatoes, olives, zucchini, eggplant, peas, beans, avocado, cucumber, pumpkin, corn, peppers, and okra (to name a few). Even the stems of a plant can be a vegetable, like a stalk of celery. Tomatoes are a fruit, according to the standard definition of fruit, but in culinary terms, tomatoes are considered a vegetable.
Herbs are a subset of vegetables, and they are generally composed of strong and flavorful leaves of certain plants, such as dill, oregano, thyme, parsley, sage, cilantro and basil. Herbs are typically used to season dishes made from vegetables, grains, and meats, as they have a pungent flavor, making them great for seasoning.
Herbs and spices are very similar, but spices are taken from practically any part of the plant, including the roots, seeds, leaves, fruit, or even the bark. Examples of spices made from roots include turmeric, ginger, and horseradish. Spices made from fruit include red pepper, fennel, and coriander. Spices made from seeds include allspice, black pepper, mustard, and caraway. Spices from leaves include bay leaf, mint, marjoram, and basically any fresh herb, once dried, can be used as a spice culinarily.
