Vegetables: Advanced

Parsnip

The parsnip is a pale root vegetable with a sweet, spicy taste similar to the carrot. It suits soups, purées and stews.

💡 Did you know? Before the potato, the parsnip was an important staple food in Europe.

Swede

The rutabaga (swede) is a large yellowish root with a mild cabbage flavour. It stores for a long time and is made into stew or purée.

💡 Did you know? In times of hardship such as the 'turnip winter' of 1916/17 it was often the only available staple food.

Chard

Chard is a leafy vegetable with large green leaves and often colourful stalks. The leaves and stalks are cooked separately.

💡 Did you know? It is closely related to the beetroot but forms no root bulb.

Jerusalem artichoke

The Jerusalem artichoke is a knobbly root with a nutty, sweet taste, related to the sunflower. It is eaten raw or cooked like potatoes.

💡 Did you know? Its yellow flowers look like small sunflowers.

Salsify

Black salsify is a long, dark root with a fine, asparagus-like taste. Under its black skin it is white.

💡 Did you know? It is also called 'winter asparagus' because it is harvested in winter.

Artichoke

The artichoke is a large thistle flower whose fleshy leaf bases and heart are eaten. It is boiled and the leaves are pulled off one by one.

💡 Did you know? If not harvested, the bud opens into a large purple flower.

Okra

Okra is a green, elongated pod with a slimy interior, popular in African, Indian and South American cooking. It is steamed or fried.

💡 Did you know? Its natural mucilage is used to thicken soups and stews.

Pak choi

Bok choy is an Asian leafy cabbage with white stalks and dark green leaves. It tastes mild and is often stir-fried quickly in a wok.

💡 Did you know? Unlike classic cabbage it forms no firm head.

Napa cabbage

Napa cabbage forms an elongated, pale head of tender, mild leaves. It is eaten raw as salad or cooked.

💡 Did you know? Fermented napa cabbage becomes the Korean dish kimchi.

Kale

Kale is a hardy leafy cabbage with strongly curled dark green leaves. It is especially rich in vitamins and a northern German winter dish.

💡 Did you know? After the first frost it tastes milder and sweeter: it then converts starch into sugar.

Savoy cabbage

Savoy cabbage has a loose head with wavy, tender leaves. It tastes milder than white cabbage and is easy to stuff.

💡 Did you know? Its crinkled leaves are especially good as a wrapper for cabbage rolls.

Kohlrabi

Kohlrabi forms a round, above-ground bulb with a mild-sweet, cabbage-like taste. It is eaten raw or cooked.

💡 Did you know? The young leaves are also edible and even richer in vitamins than the bulb.

Arugula

Arugula (rocket) has narrow, jagged leaves with a spicy, peppery, nutty taste. It is used as a salad or on pizza.

💡 Did you know? Its pungency comes from mustard oils, as in its relatives mustard and radish.

Chicory

Chicory forms firm, pale-yellow shoots with a slightly bitter taste. It is eaten as salad or baked au gratin.

💡 Did you know? It is grown in the dark: only then do the leaves stay pale and mild instead of green and bitter.

Endive

Endive is an autumn leaf salad with a slightly bitter taste and curly or broad leaves. It stores well.

💡 Did you know? It is closely related to chicory: both belong to the chicory family.

Sweet potato

The sweet potato is a sweetish tuber with mostly orange flesh. Despite the name it is not related to the potato.

💡 Did you know? Botanically it belongs to the morning-glory family, whereas the potato belongs to the nightshades.

Ginger

Ginger is a hot, spicy root tuber used for cooking, for tea and as a remedy. It comes from Southeast Asia.

💡 Did you know? It is said to help against nausea and travel sickness.

Celeriac

Celeriac is a large, white root bulb with a strong, savoury aroma. It is a key ingredient in soup greens and stocks.

💡 Did you know? Dried, ground celery is used to make the well-known celery salt.

Snow pea

The snow pea is eaten together with its tender, flat pod, before the peas inside are fully formed. It tastes crunchy and sweet.

💡 Did you know? Unlike ordinary peas, the pod lacks the tough parchment layer: which is why it is edible.

Romanesco

Romanesco is a light-green cabbage whose florets grow in striking, pointed spirals. It tastes milder and nuttier than cauliflower.

💡 Did you know? Its florets form a natural fractal pattern that repeats itself at ever smaller scales.

Pointed cabbage

Pointed cabbage has a loose, cone-shaped head with tender, mild leaves. It cooks faster than firm white cabbage.

💡 Did you know? It is an early, more tender relative of white cabbage, ready as soon as early summer.

Parsley root

Hamburg parsley is a pale, tapering root with a strong, parsley-like flavour. It seasons soups and stews.

💡 Did you know? It looks very like the parsnip but tastes markedly more aromatic and is more slender.