VEGETABLES

DEFINITIONS
 Vegetables  refers to any herbaceous plant that
can be partially or wholly eaten  has little or no
woody tissue (non-woody plant)
 Include leaves, stems, roots, tubers, seed and
flower
 Contain less sugar than fruits  not sweet, mild
flavor
 Eaten cooked or raw, with main meals
 Some products, such as tomatoes, peppers and
eggplants are botanically fruits  prepared and
served like vegetables  “fruit-vegetables”
 General exceptions : culinary fruit, grains (cereals),
nuts, herbs and spices.
VEGETABLES : Examples ?
 Tubers  stem tubers, root tubers
 Bulbs
 Stems
 Seeds (& pods)
 Flowers
 Leaves
 Fruits (fruit-vegetables)

Exceptions : herbs & spices

Also considered
as vegetables
 Mushroom  FUNGI
 Sprout mung bean sprout
(‘kecambah’)
 Shoot  bamboo shoot
(‘rebung’)
STEM VEGETABLES
Asparagus
 Asparagus officinalis
 Fam : Asparagaceae
 Only young asparagus shoots are commonly
eaten
SEED & POD
Pod  elongated seed vessel of a leguminous
plant
 ‘Buncis’ (green bean, Phaseolus vulgaris)
 Long bean / asparagus bean (‘kacang
panjang’, Vigna unguiculata sesquipedalis)

Seed  Examples :
• Jengkol (Archidendron pauciflorum)
• Petai (Parkia speciosa)
• Petai cina / lamtoro (Leucaena leucocephala)
FLOWER VEGETABLES

 Broccoli
 Cauliflower
 Banana flower
 LEAFY VEGETABLES
Examples :
 Daun pepaya
 Daun singkong
 Daun kacang panjang (‘lembayung’)
 Daun ubi jalar (‘glandir’)
 Pucuk labu / daun labu siam
 Parsley / peterseli (Petroselinum crispum)
 Water spinach / Chinese watercress / ‘kangkung’
(Ipomoea aquatica)
 Brassicaceae / Cruciferae
Brassica oleracea
 Alboglabra : Kailan / Chinese broccoli
 Botrytis : Cauliflower / kembang kol
 Capitata : Cabbage / kobis / kol
 Italica : Broccoli

Other Brassicas
 Sawi hijau / sawi bakso / caisim (Brassica rapa
parachinensis)
 Chinese cabbage / sawi putih (Brassica rapa
pekinensis)
 Sawi sendok / pak choy / bok choy (Brassica rapa
chinensis)
Brassicaceae / Cruciferae
Other species of Brassicaceae
 Watercress / ‘selada air’ /
‘kenci’ (Nasturtium
officinale)
 Radish : red radish, daikon /
Asian white radish (Raphanus)
 Wasabi (Wasabia japonica) –
paste from its rhizome used as
condiment
Amaranthaceae
 Amaranth / ‘bayam’ (Amaranthus spp.)
 Spinach / ‘horenso’ / ‘bayam Jepang’
(Spinacia oleracea)
 Sugar beet / ‘bit gula’ & beetroot / ‘bit merah’
(Beta vulgaris)
FRUIT-VEGETABLES
FRUIT-VEGETABLES

 Young jackfruit (‘gori’)

 Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus)
Solanaceae

 Potato
 Eggplant / aubergine
 Tomato
 Capsicums (chilli, bell pepper)
 Cucurbitaceae
 Cucurbita  squash, pumpkin
 Bitter gourd / ‘pare’ / ‘paria’ (Momordica charantia)
 Chayote / ‘labu siam / jipang’ (Sechium edule)
 ‘Gambas / oyong’ (Luffa acutangula)
 Cucumis  cucumber, melons
 Citrullus  watermelon
CHARACTERISTICS OF
VEGETABLES
CHARACTERISTICS OF VEGETABLES

General composition
 Mostly contain water (90-96%); carbohydrate (incl. fiber),
vitamins, minerals, pigments, phytochemicals
 Low in fat and sodium
 Vegetable nutrients varies widely. Some fresh and canned
vegetables have high water content with some protein
but more carbohydrate
 Seeds that are considered vegetables contain high amount
of energy, protein and carbohydrate. Ex : red bean
 Contribute modestly to intake of protein and calories but
major source of vitamins
Carbohydrates

Available in various function :

1. Serve as structural components (cellulose)
2. Stored as energy reserves (starch)
3. As simple sugars
 Fiber
 Material in plant foods that cannot be broken
down by digestive enzymes into absorbable
nutrients
 Not absorbed in the small intestine, pass into large
intestine, where some are broken down by
intestinal bacteria and the rest are excreted
 Fiber comes from cell walls materials
 Cellulose and lignin  insoluble fiber  provide
bulk
 Pectin and hemicellulose  soluble fiber 
thickens intestinal contents, slows movement of
toxins
Vitamins
 Provider of essential vitamins : vitamin C, folic
acid, vitamin A
 Vitamin C  refreshes the chemical state of metal
components in many enzymes and help with the
synthesis of connective tissue collagen
 Vitamin A  our bodies make from a precursor
molecule in plants called beta carotene. Helps
regulate the growth of several different kinds of
cells and helps our eyes detect lights
 Folic Acid  latin word of “leaf”. Converts a by
products of our cells’ metabolism, homocysteine,
into the amino acid methionine. High level of
homocysteine causes damage to blood vessels
Minerals
 Rich (0.6-1.8%), mainly : K, Na, Ca, Mg, Fe,
Mn, Al, P, Cl, S.
Ex : spinach, carrots, cabbage, tomatoes.
Pigments
Chlorophylls
 Contained mainly in chloroplast
 Chlorophylls a bright blue green
 Chlorophylls b  muted olive color
 The molecules consist of two parts  ring of carbon
and nitrogen (water soluble) and fat-soluble tail
 During cooking, the complex is easily disrupted 
attention to cooking times, temperatures and
acidities (green  brown color)
 Pigments
Carotenoids
 Fat soluble
 Color range :

Orange/carotenes : carrot, apricot, peach, citrus

Red / lycopene : tomato, watermelon
Yellow-orange / xanthophyll : peach, paprika

Flavonoids
Water soluble, color range : purple, blue, red 
anthocyanin
Ex : grape, berry, eggplant.
Leaching of this pigment during processing & cooking
Flavor
 Bitter taste  due to alkaloid
 Savory  glutamic acids ; ex : in tomatoes,
seaweeds, mushrooms
 Touch : Astringency  tactile sensation (dry,
puckery, rough feeling). Caused by phenolic
compounds, commonly tannins. Astringency can be
desirable, ex : in tea, wine.
 Irritation : Pungency  caused by ”hot” spices and
vegetables (chilly, mustard, onion, garlic). Sulfur
compounds in mustard and onion do mild damage to
cell membrane. Other vegetables bind to specific
receptor on cell membrane and trigger pain signal to
brain.
 Aroma  involves hundreds of chemicals. Specific
aroma  volatiles compounds
Phytochemicals
 Free radicals Chemical by-product of energy generation and
other metabolism process that involves oxygen  oxidative
stress / damage
 Plants photosynthesis  huge oxidative stress. Thus vegetables
are full of antioxidant to prevents damage to DNA and proteins
 Antioxidants in vegetables :
 Vitamin C and E
 Carotenoidpigments  orange beta-carotene, yellow lutein
and zeaxanthin, red lycopene
 Green chlorophyll
 Vitamin C and E
 Phenolic compounds
 Other phytochemicals  glucosinolates in brassica vegetables
Toxins in some vegetables
 Alkaloids  bitter-tasting toxins. Poisonous at high dose,
alter metabolism at low dose, ex : caffeine, nicotine,
solanine
 Cyanogens  mixed with the plant enzyme that releases
HCN. Need processing to consume safely. Ex : in bamboo
shoots, cassava
 Hydrazines  nitrogen containing substance found in
mushrooms. May cause liver damage
 Protease inhibitors and lectins  proteins that interfere
with digestion (anti-nutrition). Block actions of protein-
digesting enzymes, lectins bind to the intestinal cells,
preventing absorbtion. Ex : in soy beans, kidney and lima
beans.
 Oxalates  various salt of oxalic acid. Calcium salts irritate
mouth and digestive system. Ex : in spinach, beets
Texture of Vegetables
 Description : crisp, juicy, soft, dry, flabby,
chewy.
 Texture  the way the tissue break apart as we
chew
 Two main factors : the construction of the cell
walls, amount of water held in by those walls.
 Construction of cell walls : tough fiber of
cellulose and semisolid mix of water,
carbohydrate, minerals and proteins that
crosslink the fiber and fill the space between
them.
 Texture
 Crispness of vegetables  affected by the
water content (movement of water in and out
of the cells)
 Toughness results from the cell wall
components – pectins, hemicellulose, and
cellulose– which change during maturation,
storage and processing.
 Many factors impacting toughness include
tissue conditions, pH, enzyme and salt
concentrations.
CULINARY USES
of VEGETABLES
 Raw as salad or “lalapan”
 Cooked : boiled, steamed, fried, stir-fried
 Cooked with other ingredients in many dishes

PROCESSING
 Frozen vegetables
 Canned vegetables
 Fermentation
 Ingredients in many processed foods