Properties: Vegetables
Vegetables are a particularly low-calorie yet nutrient-rich food. Typically, between 20 and 80 calories are contained in 100 grams of vegetables. These divide macronutritionally across all three macronutrients: proteins, carbohydrates, and fats (especially unsaturated fatty acids). Ripe vegetables generally provide around 1 to 5 grams of protein per 100 grams, about 2 to 15 grams of carbohydrates per 100 grams (including large amounts of dietary fiber), as well as up to 20 grams of fat per 100 grams of product. Fresh vegetables are also an excellent source of various minerals such as potassium, sodium, calcium, iron, phosphorus, and magnesium. Furthermore, ripe vegetables contain numerous vital substances—such as vitamins A, B6, B12, C, D, and E. Lastly, the particularly diverse nutrient profile of vegetables is complemented by a variety of secondary plant compounds. These are largely not yet fully researched but are suspected to counteract a multitude of diseases.
Origin: Vegetables
The first settled humans already endeavored to actively cultivate plants that had previously only been harvested as wild vegetables. Around this time, the first cultivation methods for various vegetable plants were developed. The cultivation of vegetables initially served as support for hunting, whose yields could no longer keep up with the rapidly growing population within individual settlements. In antiquity, however, the first urban vegetable cultivation was developed. Here, ornamental gardens primarily served to obtain food but also as a place of relaxation. It was not until the Middle Ages that agricultural vegetable cultivation, which far exceeded self-sufficiency, took hold in wide parts of Europe. Initially cultivated were durable vegetable varieties such as peas or beans and various types of cabbage.
Uses: Vegetables
Vegetables have served as a staple food for humans for thousands of years and have been used in the preparation of various dishes such as salads, soups, vegetable stews, grilled dishes, sauces, and other foods. Most types of vegetables can also be eaten raw – however, prior heating is recommended for many types of vegetables. A large portion of the world's cultivated vegetables is also used for animal feed production. The uses for vegetables are accordingly diverse and range from a simple snack dish, through use as a side dish to being used as a main course.
Health: Vegetables
Vegetables count among the healthiest foods overall and offer the human organism a wealth of valuable vital and mineral substances as well as secondary plant substances. These prevent potential diseases by strengthening the body's own immune system. Furthermore, they support numerous metabolic activities in the body and also act alkaline, which is particularly advantageous when there is a high consumption of meat simultaneously. The regular consumption of various vegetable varieties is therefore strongly recommended. However, attention should be paid to potential allergies or food intolerances.
The food Vegetable describes a general term for plant-based foods. In contrast to fruit, vegetables refer to the roots, leaves or other edible parts of a plant. A further subdivision takes place into summer and winter vegetables and can be traced back to their harvest periods. Spring and autumn vegetables are also represented. According to the fact that seasons on Earth vary, however, the terms spring, summer, autumn and winter vegetables are somewhat misleading and region-dependent.
Vegetables include all useful plants of humans that are suitable for consumption as well as for the production of animal feed. Roots, tubers as well as stems and leaves are usually obtained from one-, two- or multi-year-old plants and accordingly cooked, steamed, dried, fried, grilled, pickled or eaten raw directly. Many vegetable varieties can also be used as raw food and can be consumed without special preparation requirements. Also included under the term Vegetable are peas, lentils and cereal grains, which are seeds of vegetable plants.
Another subdivision takes place into coarse and fine vegetables. While coarse vegetables have a very firm cell wall structure, fine vegetables only have a very low cell wall structure. Coarse vegetables include for example white cabbage, red cabbage, carrots as well as celery, broad beans and most winter vegetable varieties. In contrast, the vegetable plants tomatoes, spinach, black radishes and asparagus are popular representatives of fine vegetables. Taste-wise, vegetables show a very versatile spectrum of different aromas. While horseradish is rather spicy and pungent, lettuce is neutral in taste and tomatoes are relatively sweet.
Spring Vegetables
Spring vegetables, which usually appear from April onwards, include for example carrots, chard, radishes, spinach, asparagus, vegetable onions, early potatoes, white cabbage and more. Summer vegetables usually come to the market in July and are often characterized by colorful hues such as peppers, radishes, all kinds of salads, peas, carrots, tomatoes, celery, cauliflower and more. In this period especially the colors red, green and yellow can be seen in the vegetable section.
In today's time, summer vegetables can usually be found until late October, then autumn vegetables also appear. These include Chinese cabbage, fennel, pumpkin, horseradish, red cabbage, champions, beetroot and more. Winter vegetables come to the markets mostly in December, where chicory, cauliflower, kale, legumes and more can be found.
Fresh Vegetables and Frozen Vegetables
In today's time there are many varieties of vegetables and summer vegetables or fruits can even be found on supermarket shelves during winter. This is mainly due to the fact that many vegetable varieties are also grown in greenhouses. If a vegetable or fruit is not seasonal, it is often sold at high prices.
The customer has the choice between fresh and frozen vegetables all year round. In addition, there is also the option of choosing organic vegetables, which should be particularly healthy and promises to have been grown without chemicals. Unfortunately, organic vegetables are always somewhat more expensive.
Alongside fresh vegetables, there is a lot of deep-frozen food available. It's no longer a problem to get carrots already peeled and frozen or peppers in small cubes, thus saving a lot of work. Broccoli, cauliflower, beans, peas and many other vegetable varieties are already available frozen. Frozen products have the advantage that they are shock-frozen and therefore contain many vitamins. Most vegetables lose some vitamins during transport and then even more while being offered for sale in supermarkets. Therefore, fresh vegetables, although it may be hard to believe, do not contain as many vitamins as frozen items.
History
The cultivated vegetables here were sold at farmers' markets. Only in the early modern period - around 1600 - useful plants were increasingly grown on a large scale by large-scale farmers and nearly institutionalized organizations. Another increase took place in the 18th century when the first intensive cultivation areas emerged. Today, however, vegetables are almost cultivated all over the world. Depending on the climate zone, different crop plants are considered main vegetable crops. Vegetables are grown year-round so that although individual plants are basically seasonal products, they are usually available year-round in retail due to immediate shock freezing. Furthermore, growing vegetables in the home garden is still very popular.