Culinary Classifications of Vegetables

Because vegetable types are so varied, and because people have different goals for their classifications, there is no set vegetable classification system on which everyone agrees. You may find that vegetables are classified differently in other texts. In Table 4.1, we divide vegetables into nine groups. However, you will discover that some vegetables belong in more than one group, and others do not fit neatly into any group at all. Although the classifications used here are purely culinary, not scientific, when appropriate, botanical family names are used.