The vegetable realm includes any edible part of a plant—leaf, stem, tuber, root, bulb, berry, and seed. The vegetable realm therefore includes grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, fruits, and sea vegetables; technically it excludes mushrooms, which are a fungus.
In common usage, however, vegetables refer to fleshy, edible plants, which are more mineral rich and less sugary than fruits.
According to research from Penn State, a bag of spinach that has been stored at 39 degrees Fahrenheit for eight days has lost half of its folate and carotenoids, compounds known for their importance in preventing birth defects, fighting heart disease and preventing blindness and cancer.
"People should just eat (spinach) fast and not let it sit in their drawers," said Luke LaBorde, associate professor of food science at Pennsylvania State. "You have to accept the reality that it's a living plant, and you should eat it while it's fresh."
Storage: Most vegetables should be stored in the vegetable drawer of the refrigerator. Tomatoes, avocados, potatoes, and sweet potatoes, however, are damaged by the 30 to 40 degree temperatures that other vegetables thrive in.
from Rebecca Wood's The New Whole Foods Encyclopedia |
