Vegetables and Fruits

Abstract

Vegetables are the edible portion of plants eaten with (or as) the main course. They are in salads and soups. Vegetables may be processed into beverages or vegetable starches, eaten fresh or lightly processed, dried, pickled, or frozen. They impart their own characteristic flavor, color, and texture to diets, and undergo changes during storage and cooking. Ranked next to the cereal crops wheat, rice, and corn, potatoes are the most prolific vegetable crop grown for human consumption.

Glossary

Allium

Flavor compounds in the genus Allium that contain sulfur compounds and offer phytochemical value.

Anthocyanin

Red-blue pigmented vegetables of the Flavone family.

Anthoxanthin

Whitish pigmented fruits and vegetables of the Flavone group of chemicals.

Biotechnology

Biogenetic engineering of animals, microorganisms, and plants to alter or create products that have increased resistance to pests, improved nutritive value, and shelf life.

Brassica

Flavor compound of Brassica genus including cruciferous vegetables with sulfur compounds.

Carotenoid

The group of red-orange pigmented fruits and vegetables; some are precursors of vitamin A and also have antioxidant value.

Cellulose

Glucose polymer joined by β-1,4 glycosidic linkages; cannot be digested by human enzymes, thus it provides insoluble dietary fiber.

Cell sap

Found in the plant vacuole; contains water-soluble components such as sugars, salts, and some color and flavor compounds.

Chlorophyll

The green pigment of fruits and vegetables.

Cytoplasm

Plant cell contents inside the cell membrane, but outside the nucleus.

Diffusion

Movement of solute across a permeable membrane from an area of greater concentration to lesser concentration in heated products that do not have an intact cell membrane.

Enzymatic oxidative browning

Browning of cut or bruised fruits and vegetables due to the presence of phenolic compounds, enzymes, and oxygen.

Fresh

Alive and respiring as evidenced by metabolic and biochemical activities.

Fruit

The mature ovaries of plants with their seeds.

Hemicellulose

The indgestible fiber in cell walls that provides bulk in the diet; may be soluble, but primarily insoluble.

Lignin

The noncarbohydrate component of fiber of plant tissue that is insoluble and excreted from the body. It provides the undesirable woody texture of mature plants.

Middle lamella

The cementing material between adjacent plant cells, containing pectic substances, magnesium, calcium, and water.

Nutraceuticals

The name given to a proposed new regulatory category of food components that may be considered a food or part of a food and may supply medical or health benefits including the treatment or prevention of disease. A term not recognized by the FDA.

Osmosis

The movement of water across semipermeable membranes from an area of greater concentration to lesser concentration in products with an intact cell membrane.

Parenchyma tissue

Majority of plant cells containing the cytoplasm and nucleus.

Pectic substances

The intercellular “cement” between cell walls; the gel-forming polysaccharide of plant tissue.

Phytochemicals

Plant chemicals; natural compounds other than nutrients in fresh plant material that help in disease prevention. They protect against oxidative cell damage and may facilitate carcinogen excretion from the body to reduce the risk of cancer.

Turgor pressure

Pressure exerted by water-filled vacuoles on the cytoplasm and the partially elastic cell wall.

Vacuole

Cavity filled with cell sap and air.