The etiquette of Indian dining is one of the most novel and
discrete practices in the world that never fails to get mentioned in travel
books and channels. The combined flavours
of spices, herbs, vegetables and fruits rolling in our tongue fed with our
hands and dining with friends and relatives making eating hours one of the most
important part of our cultural premise.
We are not people who really like repeating the same
vegetables or fruits at least in a period of a week. Why should we when our
tropical varieties are really large? Having said that, have you given a thought
on how do we really differentiate between fruits and vegetables?
Okay, so before you read further categorize the following as
vegetables and fruits
CARROT
PUMPKIN
CUCUMBER
POTATO
CABBAGE
BROCCOLI
GREEN PEAS
BITTER GOURD
PLANTAIN STEM
ONION
TAPIOCA
CHILLI
TOMATO
BRINJAL
We eat so many varieties of fruits and vegetables but
sometimes never gave a thought on what actually differentiates them other than
the general notion that fruits are sweet and easily consumed uncooked,
vegetables usually savoury.
It is not just looks but even taste can be deceptive!
By definition, botanically, A fruit is the
mature ovary of a seed plant, usually developed from a flower.
A fruit is simply the seed bearing structure of a plant
mostly growing out of a flower. The rest parts of a plant that are edible are
the vegetables. Roots, Stem, leaves, flowers etc are vegetables.
Now check if your answers to the list were right or wrong.
CARROT Vegetable
PUMPKIN Fruit
CUCUMBER Fruit
POTATO Vegetable
CABBAGE Vegetable
BROCCOLI Vegetable
GREEN PEAS Fruit
BITTER GOURD Fruit
PLANTAIN STEM Vegetable
ONION Vegetable
TAPIOCA Vegetable
CHILLI Fruit
TOMATO Fruit
BRINJAL Fruit
Carrot, radish etc form edible part of the root of the plant
and hence termed vegetables. Similarly potatoes, tapioca are tubers (the fleshy
roots) which also come under vegetables. Cauliflower and broccoli for the
flowers, Cabbage the extended leafy part of the plant and Plantain stem all
come under vegetable categorization. The rest of them bear seeds including
bitter gourd and brinjal. Chilies, bell peppers are seed bearing and hence
fruits.
So what is for lunch? Rice or Roti? And if I say we have a
bowl full of cooked dry-fruits every day, would you agree?
Cereal grains are also a type of fruit - a dry one-seeded
fruit in which the ovary wall is united with the seed coat, typical of grasses
and cereals. So basically rice, wheat, corn kernels are typically seeds – dried
seeds often called dry fruits.
But remember
an unripe corn is a vegetable!
Pulses, lentils are all seeds that grow in a pod. A pea pod
is a fruit and Pea by itself a seed.
So how many vegetables and fruits did you eat for LUNCH today???
