Leaf vegetables, also called greens or leafy greens, are plant leaves eaten as a vegetable, sometimes accompanied by tender petioles and shoots. Although they come from a very wide variety of plants, most share a great deal with other leaf vegetables in nutrition and cooking methods. Almost all types of leaf vegetables come from annual plants or biennial plants. In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant organ specialized for photosynthesis. ... Vegetables on a market Vegetable is a nutritional and culinary term denoting any part of a plant that is commonly consumed by humans as food, but is not regarded as a culinary fruit, nut, herb, spice, or grain. ... A petiole (also called a pedicel) is the first abdominal segment of members of the Apocrita. ... A shoot is the fresh young growth of a plant stem. ... Nutrition is interpreted as the study of the organic process by which an organism assimilates and uses food and liquids for normal functioning, growth and maintenance and to maintain the balance between health and disease. ... Cooking is the act of preparing food for consumption. ... An annual is a plant that usually germinates, flowers and dies in one year. ... A Biennial plant is a plant that takes between twelve and twenty-four months to complete its lifecycle. ...

Nutrition

Leaf vegetables are typically low in calories, high in protein per calorie, high in dietary fiber, high in iron and calcium, and very high in phytochemicals such as vitamin C, vitamin A, lutein and folic acid. A representation of the 3D structure of myoglobin, showing coloured alpha helices. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... General Name, Symbol, Number iron, Fe, 26 Chemical series transition metal Group, Period, Block 8 (VIIIB), 4 , d Density, Hardness 7874 kg/m3, 4. ... General Name, Symbol, Number calcium, Ca, 20 Series alkaline earth metal Group, Period, Block 2 (IIA), 4, s Density, Hardness 1550 kg/m3, 1. ... Phytochemicals are sometimes referred to as phytonutrients and these terms are often used interchangeably. ... Vitamin C is a water-soluble nutrient essential for life and is used by the human body for many purposes. ... Retinol, the dietary form of vitamin A, is a fat-soluble, antioxidant vitamin important in vision and bone growth. ... Folic acid (the anion form is called folate) is a B-complex vitamin (once called vitamin M) that is important in preventing neural tube defects (NTDs) in the developing human fetus. ...

Preparation

Most types of leaf vegetables may be eaten raw, for example in salads. They may be stir-fried or stewed. —Cleopatra, in Shakespeares Antony and Cleopatra, 1606 A salad is a food item generally served either prior to or after the main dish as a separate course, as a main course in itself, or as a side dish accompanying the main dish. ... Stir frying is a common Chinese cooking technique used because of its fast cooking speed. ... A stew is a common food made of vegetables and meat in some sort of broth or sauce. ...

Leaf vegetables stewed with pork are a traditional dish in soul food, and Southern U.S. cuisine. Hormel Pork Loin Filets This article is on the meat. ... For the movie, see Soul Food Soul food is an ethnic cuisine, food traditionally eaten by African Americans of the Southern United States. ... The Southern United States has a distinct cuisine that draws heavily on influences of the various groups that have inhabited the area. ...

See also

Category:Leaf vegetables

External links

• Leaf for Life — lists of and information about many leaf vegetables (http://www.leafforlife.org/PAGES/TOPCROPS.HTM)