# Poll: What is your favorite vegetable



## jkath (Jun 16, 2005)

I'm curious to see how veggies rank with foodies :

Choose carefully - you can only vote once!


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## Alix (Jun 16, 2005)

Wheres the poll?


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## pdswife (Jun 16, 2005)

??  Maybe, Jkath is still hard at work on it?


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## jkath (Jun 16, 2005)

The poll is there...look again!


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## ps8 (Jun 16, 2005)

My personal favorite veggie isn't on the poll.  It's the kind that I don't have to eat!     I never grew up, I guess, because I still don't like veggies.


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## GB (Jun 16, 2005)

I had a hard time picking because my favorites fit into different categories and I love so many veggies. I hope my daughter takes after me and her mom in that respect.


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## crewsk (Jun 16, 2005)

My all time favorite is broccoli, I'll eat it any way it is fixed! But I like most all veggies.


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## Andy M. (Jun 16, 2005)

So where are the tomatoes?  Or, are you being botanically correct and calling them fruits?


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## pdswife (Jun 16, 2005)

It's a hard question to answer... I like so many veggies.  Different ones at different times.


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## buckytom (Jun 16, 2005)

oh man, here we go. what are fruits, and what are veggies? btw, jkath, you should add a category for cruciferous veggies, one for the nightshades (ok, they're really fruit but thought of as veggies), and one for exotics like asian or south american.


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## Robo410 (Jun 16, 2005)

dried beans peas lentils etc, green leafies, and winter roots.  Love parsnips roasted with anything.


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## texasgirl (Jun 16, 2005)

cooked cabbage


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## Bangbang (Jun 16, 2005)

POTATOES ROCK


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## luvs (Jun 16, 2005)

man, that's hard to say. i love them all, 'cept for raw bell peppers. 
buttered zucchini with salt and pepper rank very high on my list.


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## HanArt (Jun 16, 2005)

Andy M. said:
			
		

> So where are the tomatoes? Or, are you being botanically correct and calling them fruits?


 
My thoughts exactly!!! What kind of a veggie poll doesn't include tomatoes???


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## Michael in FtW (Jun 16, 2005)

Humm ... does "Others" include avacados and bean sprouts, jkath?  

Okay - I voted for _others_ because it included eggplant.

I really can't think of a veggie I don't like!


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## ironchef (Jun 16, 2005)

I love different combinations of root vegetables, fingerling potatoes, etc. Salsify, Celery Root, and Sunchokes (okay so it's not a root vegetable) also are high on my list.


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## middie (Jun 16, 2005)

ps8 said:
			
		

> My personal favorite veggie isn't on the poll. It's the kind that I don't have to eat!  I never grew up, I guess, because I still don't like veggies.


 
me either ps8... if it's not a potato or corn i won't touch it lol


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## buckytom (Jun 16, 2005)

HanArt said:
			
		

> My thoughts exactly!!! What kind of a veggie poll doesn't include tomatoes???


 
that's what i meant by nightshades (eggplants, green peppers, tomatoes, etc., and all are really fruit, not veg., the only nightshade veg is a potato, and that's a tuber)

and cruciferous includes cabbages, cauliflower, broccoli, brussel sprouts, kohlrabi, kale, etc.


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## roxygirl (Jun 16, 2005)

I love different types of salad greens, but I love tomatoes too. I guess tomato is classified as a fruit.


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## jkath (Jun 17, 2005)

yes, tomatoes are fruit, as are avocados-  I adore them both in any way, shape or form, but they will be in the fruit poll eventually 

So, no squash takers yet, eh?


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## SierraCook (Jun 17, 2005)

jkath, I love squash.  Especially battered and deep fried, yummy.  But I would not say that it is my favorite veggie.


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## jkath (Jun 17, 2005)

Sierra, are there any foods that aren't yummy when deep fried?
I actually had sweet potato french fries tonight that were amazing!


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## SierraCook (Jun 17, 2005)

I had sweet potato french fries once and did not really like them.     They were too sweet for me, imagine that.


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## Barbara L (Jun 17, 2005)

To further confuse everyone, I read that tomatoes are actually a berry, as they grow on the ground and fruits grow in trees.   

 Barbara


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## SierraCook (Jun 17, 2005)

You are right, Barbara. Tomatoes are a fruit and a berry. Berries are classified as fruits. Here is some more info. on the tomato, probably more than we want to know, but interesting reading anyway. 









 The tomato though commonly classified as a vegetable is really a fruit, a berry in fact. Tomato fruits exibit all of the common characteristics of berries. The fruit develops from the ovary of the flower. The tomato is fleshy due to the pericarp walls and skin. Finally there are several seeds in each tomato. (Weier, et al., 1982) 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	















 transverse section of five locule tomato fruit 


Tomatoes can be either bilocular or multilocular. Most cultivated varieties except cherry tomatoes have four or five locules. The locules are surrounded by the pericarp. The pericarp includes the inner wall, columella; the radial wall, septa; and the outer wall. The pericarp and the placenta comprise the fleshy tissue of the tomato. The seeds are located inside of the locular cavities and are enclosed in gelatinous membranes. There are vascular bundles throughout the outer wall of the pericarp and travelling from the stem to the center of the tomato and from there radiating to each seed. (Ho and Hewitt 1986)


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## auntdot (Jun 17, 2005)

Andy M and HanArt have a real good point here, IMHO. If we are going to exclude tomatoes, we also should toss out squashes, eggplant, peppers, beans, and peas. 


“Botanically speaking, tomatoes are the fruit of a vine, just as are cucumbers, squashes, beans, and peas.” So said the Supreme Court in 1893 (Nix vs. Hedden). 


OK, maybe the Supreme Court should not be considered the font of scientific truth, but they were botanically correct, those items biologically represent the fruits of the plants.

However, in that ruling they also went on to state that:

“But *in the common language of the people*, whether sellers or consumers of provisions, *all these are vegetables* which are grown in kitchen gardens, and which, whether eaten cooked or raw, are, like potatoes, carrots, parsnips, turnips, beets, cauliflower, cabbage, celery, and lettuce, usually served at dinner in, with, or after the soup, fish, or meats which constitute the principal part of the repast, and not, like fruits generally, as dessert.”

And so the final ruling in the case, which I believe has not been subsequently reversed, is that in the USA, tomatoes, and many botanically classified ‘fruits’, are legally veggies.

(If you are wondering why the Court was bothering itself about such a matter, it seems a Mr. Nix did not want to pay the import duty upon the ‘vegetable’ tomatoes, claiming it was a fruit, which were not taxed. The customs agent, Mr. Hedden, said no deal, and the case eventually went before the high court.)

Sorry about the length of this thing, but I put it in because my favorite veggie is okra.

And I don’t want anyone calling it a fruit, heck, I have the law on my side.


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## bevkile (Jun 17, 2005)

I vote for all of the above plus those not mentioned. Not fond of cooked spinach, collards, kale and etc. I can handle them if mixed in combination with other ingredients. One of my favorite lasagnas is one using spinach and mushrooms substituted for meat, and I am not even a vegetarian.


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## Raine (Jun 17, 2005)

And rhubarb is really a vegetable, not a fruit.


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## jkath (Jun 17, 2005)

Rainee said:
			
		

> And rhubarb is really a vegetable, not a fruit.


That's why it's listed with celery above....


Sierra - that was quite interesting about the tomatoes - I like that kind of stuff. 


Aunt Dot: Encarta specifies squash as a vegetable, and I have beans and peas listed as legumes. 


(Gee...I didn't mean to start a debate. I wanted to know what people liked better on their dinner plates.)


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## SierraCook (Jun 17, 2005)

jkath, don't worry about starting a debate that is what makes life interesting.  It would be a pretty boring life if we all agreed all the time.    Keep up the great polls, they are fun!!  

I never said what my favorite veggie is.  I voted for peppers because of their versatility.  What else can you add to stir-fries, put in salsa, add to a frittata, give color to a salad, etc.  I had a hard time deciding between them and the root vegetables.  Onions are a staple in my house.


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## jkath (Jun 17, 2005)

And, have you ever chopped up a really sweet yellow pepper and added vidalias and strawberries? It's a great relish for chicken! (and it makes for a pretty presentation)


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## jkath (Jun 17, 2005)

OH! I forgot my favorite! I went with roots, because:
A. Potatoes, carrots and onions are so good with any meat
B. I love carbs and eat them.....and eat them.....and eat them.....


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## HanArt (Jun 17, 2005)

Auntdot, too funny!  

I still say the tomato is my favorite veggie (I don't care if it is a fruit)!!! 

A day's harvest...


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## crewsk (Jun 17, 2005)

HanArt, I'm jealous!! Those are beautiful!!


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## buckytom (Jun 17, 2005)

your tomatoes are bewdies hanart, for so early in the year. the earliest we can get them this far north is around the 4th of july.
( please don't post pictures of your canteloupes or honeydews. i won't be able to resist the obvious jokes...)


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## kleenex (Jun 17, 2005)

I do not think it will be hard to guess what mine is.....


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## Barbara L (Jun 17, 2005)

I love most vegetables.  I'm not supposed to eat some of them (anything green and leafy--I love spinach!, corn, broccoli, beets, carrots, beans) but I can't give them up completely!  No matter what category they really fall in, tomatoes and avocados are used as vegetables, and I love them both.  I eat onions in just about everything, and I love potatoes any way, shape, or form.  The only vegetables I really don't like are greens (except spinach and beet greens), turnips, and rutabagas.

 Barbara


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## HanArt (Jun 17, 2005)

Barbara, I just discovered rutabagas last year and fell in love! Turned a friend on to them recently. Boiled & smashed with a little butter ... pure heaven! 

crew & bucky, if it makes you feel any better that photo was actually taken in early May. My harvest is just about done! Between the heat, stinkbugs, and birds, there's not much left worth harvesting. I'll be pulling most of the plants within the next couple weeks.


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## cartwheelmac (Dec 3, 2005)

Give me leafy veggies!

Cameron


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## thumpershere2 (Dec 3, 2005)

I like all veggies but if I had to pick one i would pick potato.


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## RMS (Dec 3, 2005)

I think I like one from each category!
but i went with the potatoes since they are the most versatile!


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## licia (Dec 3, 2005)

I voted for legumes only because I like all the veggies listed there. I enjoy all veggies except cooked spinach (love it raw)collards ( don't touch it with a ten foot pole). Anything else I adore.


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## SizzlininIN (Dec 3, 2005)

I do love potatoes fixed in an aray of ways but I am also a huge fan of fresh asparagus......I could eat it till I make myself sick . But if I have a plate in front of me with a potato dish and fresh asparagus..........I'll go for the asparagus first.

Learn something new everyday..........I didn't know rhubarb was a veggie.....hmmmmmm!


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## daisy (Dec 3, 2005)

It's easier for me to list the veges I DON'T like, because the list is shorter. We are very lucky in my part of the world, because we get a huge range of veges all year round, including a lot of Asian-type veges - bok choy, etc. 

I really cannot handle pumpkin or turnips in any shape or form. And broad beans are just plain AWFUL. 

I will eat a white sweet potato, or a purple one, but the yellow one is my favourite by far. 

There are some veges I haven't tried, so can't comment: okra, rutabaga, kudzu and others not available in my part of the world. I survive very well without them!

Nobody has yet mentioned Fennel bulb. I like it. I can eat a lot of mushrooms, too! 

Veges - gotta luv 'em!


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## licia (Dec 3, 2005)

Kudzu is a vegetable?  I thought it was used for animal food.


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## Shunka (Dec 3, 2005)

I tried to pick all but the poll doesn't work that way....WAH!!! Would you classify tomatoes (I know, it is a fruit) in the "others" catagory?


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## kimbaby (Feb 10, 2006)

I am  SQUASHER... but I also love cucumbers,cauliflower,fried okra,asparagus,cooked cabbage,and bell peppers... are among my favorittes... I like this thread


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## tilly (Feb 10, 2006)

I think if it has a seed it is a fruit.
beans are not vegetables, I don't think.
I wish I could stand parsnips, it is just about the only thing I don't like.


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## Dove (Feb 10, 2006)

Baked Sweet Potatoes the next day right out of the refrigerator for breakfast...yummy!


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## Phil (Feb 12, 2006)

*The most versitile vegetable...*

Potato. I fix them every way I can think of.


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## BigDog (Feb 12, 2006)

Corn is my all time most consumed favorite, but I wasn't sure which category it fell under, so I went with second best, squash! Mainly winter squash, and then primarily butternut or acorn. I like summer squash, and even zucchini, but those are rarely consumed as Mrs. Big Dog t'aint fond of them.


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## AndreainDC (Feb 12, 2006)

Potatoes, asparagus, corn, tomatoes (although not really a veg, as previously pointed out) are all serious contenders, but I couldn't live without leafy greens - gotta have my spinach, lettuce, etc.


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## licia (Feb 12, 2006)

I don't think I could say what my favorite is - it may change from one time to the next - anything except collards and cooked spinach.


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