Onions, one of the oldest vegetables, are found in a large number of recipes and preparations spanning almost the totality of the world\\\'s cultures. They are now available in fresh, frozen, canned, caramelized, pickled, powdered, chopped, and dehydrated forms. Onions can be used, usually chopped or sliced, in almost every type of food, including cooked foods and fresh salads and as a spicy garnish. They are rarely eaten on their own, but usually act as accompaniment to the main course. Depending on the variety, an onion can be sharp, spicy, tangy and pungent or mild and sweet. Onions pickled in vinegar are eaten as a snack. These are often served as a side serving in fish and chip shops throughout the United Kingdom and Australia, and are referred to simply as \\\"pickled onions\\\". Onions are widely used in India and Pakistan, and are fundamental in the local cuisine. They are commonly used as a base for curries or made into a paste and eaten as a main course or as a side dish. They often make the person cry when cutting the onion so wear protective eye gear. Tissue from onions is frequently used in science education to demonstrate microscope usage, because they have particularly large cells that are readily observed even at low magnifications.

It is the base vegetable of world\'s most delicious dishes including soups and casseroles. Sauerkraut is the world fame fermented cabbage dish associated with Germany, Alsace, and the Netherlands. \"Cabbage rolls\" are quite popular at all corners of the globe. Cabbage soup is popular in central Europe and eastern Europe, and cabbage is an ingredient in some kinds of borscht.

The potato contains vitamins and minerals that have been identified as vital to human nutrition, as well as an assortment of phytochemicals, such as carotenoids and polyphenols. A medium-sized 150 g (5.3 oz) potato with the skin provides 27 mg of vitamin C (45% of the Daily Value (DV)), 620 mg of potassium (18% of DV), 0.2 mg vitamin B6 (10% of DV) and trace amounts of thiamin, riboflavin, folate, niacin, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, and zinc. The fiber content of a potato with skin (2 g) is equivalent to that of many whole grain breads, pastas, and cereals. Nutritionally, the potato is best known for its carbohydrate content (approximately 26 grams in a medium potato). The predominant form of this carbohydrate is starch. A small but significant portion of this starch is resistant to digestion by enzymes in the stomach and small intestine, and so reaches the large intestine essentially intact. This resistant starch is considered to have similar physiological effects and health benefits as fiber: it provides bulk, offers protection against colon cancer, improves glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity, lowers plasma cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations, increases satiety, and possibly even reduces fat storage.[48][49][50] The amount of resistant starch in potatoes depends much on preparation methods. Cooking and then cooling potatoes significantly increased resistant starch. For example, cooked potato starch contains about 7% resistant starch, which increases to about 13% upon cooling.[51] The nutrients of the potato seem to be fairly evenly distributed between the flesh and the skin. For a medium potato, with and without the skin, nutritiondata.com gives the following:[52][53] Nutrient Without skin (156 g) (% RDA) With skin (173 g) (% RDA) Vitamin C 33 28 Thiamin 11 7 Niacin 11 12 Vitamin B6 23 27 Folate 4 12 Pantothenic Acid 9 7 Iron 3 10 Magnesium 10 12 Potassium 17 26 Copper 17 10 Dietary Fiber 9 15 Almost all the protein content of a potato is contained in a thin layer just under its skin.[54] The cooking method used can significantly impact the nutrient availability of the potato. Potatoes are often broadly classified as high on the glycemic index (GI) and so are often excluded from the diets of individuals trying to follow a low GI diet. In fact, the GI of potatoes can vary considerably depending on type (such as red, russet, white, or Prince Edward), origin (where it was grown), preparation methods (i.e., cooking method, whether it is eaten hot or cold, whether it is mashed or cubed or consumed whole, etc.), and with what it is consumed (i.e., the addition of various high fat or high protein toppings).[55]

Tomato plants are vines, initially decumbent, typically growing six feet or more above the ground if supported, although erect bush varieties have been bred, generally three feet tall or shorter. Indeterminate types are \\\"tender\\\" perennials, dying annually in temperate climates (they are originally native to tropical highlands), although they can live up to three years in a greenhouse in some cases. Determinate types are annual in all climates. Tomato plants are dicots, and grow as a series of branching stems, with a terminal bud at the tip that does the actual growing. When that tip eventually stops growing, whether because of pruning or flowering, lateral buds take over and grow into other, fully functional, vines.[26] Tomato plant vines are typically pubescent, meaning covered with fine short hairs. These hairs facilitate the vining process, turning into roots wherever the plant is in contact with the ground and moisture, especially if there is some issue with the vine\\\'s contact to its original root. Most tomato plants have compound leaves, and are called regular leaf (RL) plants. But some cultivars have simple leaves known as potato leaf (PL) style because of their resemblance to that close cousin. Of regular leaves, there are variations, such as rugose leaves, which are deeply grooved, variegated, angora leaves, which have additional colors where a genetic mutation causes chlorophyll to be excluded from some portions of the leaves.[27] Their flowers, appearing on the apical meristem, have the anthers fused along the edges, forming a column surrounding the pistil\\\'s style. Flowers in domestic cultivars tend to be self-fertilizing. Tomato fruit is classified as a berry. As a true fruit, it develops from the ovary of the plant after fertilization, its flesh comprising the pericarp walls. The fruit contains hollow spaces full of seeds and moisture, called locular cavities. These vary, among cultivated species, according to type. Some smaller varieties have two cavities, globe-shaped varieties typically have three to five, beefsteak tomatoes have a great number of smaller cavities, while paste tomatoes have very few, very small cavities. The seeds need to come from a mature fruit, and be dried/fermented before germination.

Many of us have walked along the vegetable aisle of the grocery store and seen fruits and vegetables that…well, we were afraid to ask about. Eggplants probably fall into that category. Those large purple pear shaped vegetables look so appealing. If only we knew what to do with them. But then the questions comes to mind - is there anything in eggplant that is good for me? Should I be eating more eggplant Eggplant (Solanum melongena) also known as aubergine, belongs to the Solanaceae family of plants. Eggplant requires a long growing season, so it is usually started in the greenhouse. The nutrient content of eggplant is not very exciting. It is low in fat and protein but does contain some fiber A search of the scientific literature shows that most interest has centred on the peels of purple eggplant. The skin gets it colour from a chemical called nasunin or more correctly delphinidin-3-(p-coumaroylrutinoside)-5-glucoside. Nasunin has been shown to have both antioxidant and antiangiogenic activities. In the field of cancer research, antiangiogenisis agents were heralded as a new way of preventing cancer cells from growing and spreading by stopping the development of new blood vessels. As a cancer grows, it needs new blood vessels close by to provide nutrients. When new blood vessels are prevented from developing, the cancer starves and dies. The whole vegetable has also potential beneficial effects. Eggplant fruit juice exhibits an antimutagenic activity when tested in laboratory tests. It is suggested that there are multiple components that exist in the eggplant fruit including lutein that may be responsible. Perhaps the most obvious question that comes to mind is “how did this purple vegetable get its name?” The answer may lie in a white variety of aubergine. When ripe the vegetable looks exactly like a big egg. Like its namesake, you might want to have more eggplant in your diet.