Is garlic a vegetable or not? Definition, characteristics and description of culture

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Many food products have long been used as the most valuable medicines, having a lot of properties that are beneficial to the human body. Garlic also belongs to such gifts of nature.

The ancient Greek healer Hippocrates prescribed it as a cure for various diseases: viral infections, parasitic lesions, disorders of the gastrointestinal organs and others. Modern medicine also not only does not deny the beneficial qualities of a vegetable, but also confirms them with numerous studies. The plant is considered a natural antibiotic and helps fight many infections. But often people face the question: is garlic a vegetable or not? This should be de alt with in detail.

A bit of history

Before answering the question whether garlic is a vegetable or not, it is worth talking a little about its appearance. The plant has been known to mankind for many thousands of years, at least at least 5. Historians believe that garlic "came" from Ancient Egypt and was first used by the peoples living in the Indus Valley, and later by the ancient Chinese. The inhabitants of ancient India used itas an aphrodisiac, although it was not recognized by many due to its pungent smell.

In the Middle East, East Asia and Nepal, garlic has been a cure for bronchitis, hypertension, tuberculosis, liver disease, rheumatism and many other pathologies. The ancient Greeks used it as a dope during the Olympic Games.

General characteristics

Garlic is a herbaceous plant belonging to the genus Onion of the Amaryllis family. Previously, the culture belonged to the independent Onion family, which has now been abolished. From the botanical description it follows that garlic is a vegetable, and there can be no other answers to the main question of the article.

Vegetable or fruit?

Sometimes an ambiguous question arises: is garlic a vegetable or a fruit? If we approach the explanation formally, then fruits are the fruits of a tree or shrub that are eaten. They store the seeds by which the plants reproduce. From this point of view, cucumbers, eggplants and peas will be classified as fruits.

Vegetables are the edible part of a herbaceous plant. They can be leaves (celery), roots (carrots), bulbs (onions), or flowers (broccoli). The difference from fruits is that the latter eventually separate from the plant so that the seeds can germinate. This does not happen with vegetables.

If you answer the question whether garlic is a vegetable or not, botanically speaking, the plant will be a vegetable.

Maybe a root vegetable?

Some people ask a reasonable question:Is garlic a vegetable or a root vegetable? Let's continue to discuss further. In turn, vegetables are divided into several groups:

• tuber crops (potatoes, sweet potatoes);
• root crops (beets, radishes, carrots);
• cabbage (various types of cabbage);
• salad (salad);
• spicy (dill, tarragon);
• bulbous (onion, garlic);
• nightshade (tomato, eggplant);
• melons (zucchini, cucumber);
• legumes (peas, lentils);
• cereals (corn);
• dessert (asparagus, artichoke).

So, according to the presented classification, onions and garlic are vegetables belonging to the onion group, but they are not root crops. From a scientific point of view, the bulb is a multi-layered underground shoot, and the root crop is a powerful thickening of the underground organs of the plant, and botanists do not consider this part to be the actual fruit.

Fun fact: Garlic is a sweet vegetable. Yes, the sugar content in its juice is at least 20%, but it is impossible to feel this taste because of the burning substance of allicin, an organic sulfoxide that gives the plant that sharp taste that we feel. Allicin in garlic is formed from alliin during the process of mechanical destruction of cells.

Description of culture

Introducing garlic, its main characteristics should be mentioned:

• leaves long narrow, stretched upwards;
• false stem formed from leaves;
• when flowering, an arrow 0.6-1.5 m is formed, twisting at the end;
• arrow forms an umbrella hidden in membranous membrane;
• flowers simple, white or light purple, six stamens;
• after flowering, a fruit with a small number of seeds is formed;
• bulb consists of 2-50 "cloves" covered with dense scales, they are round in shape, white, yellowish, purple.

Garlic can be shooter or non-shooter, as well as spring and winter.

Product benefits

Having de alt with whether garlic is a vegetable or not, you should also find out how the plant is useful for humans. So, the positives from eating the culture:

• activates the work of the digestive organs;
• decreases the level of dangerous cholesterol;
• blood clots do not form, but existing ones dissolve;
• pathogenic organisms are destroyed;
• acts as an antioxidant;
• increases the body's immune forces;
• beneficial effect on the cardiovascular system;
• increases potency;
• dilutes blood fluid;
• relieves menopause.

All these qualities are provided by the valuable composition of garlic. The vegetable contains vitamins B, C, mineral components: potassium, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, sodium, manganese and others.

Is there any harm?

Yes, unfortunately, there is also a negative effect on the body. Garlic can increase blood pressure and cause heartburn. Doctors forbid taking it when:

• kidney disease;
• liver pathologies;
• gallstonedisease;
• anemia;
• gastritis, ulcer, pancreatitis;
• hemorrhoidal bumps;
• epilepsy;
• overweight.

Reason for popularity

The culture has gained universal popular love around the world due to the sharp taste and characteristic smell associated with the presence of the sulfide group in organic substances.

In medicine, garlic is used because of its well-known antiseptic properties. Cooking uses it as a spicy seasoning, and not only underground parts are used, but also leaves, arrows, and flower stalks of young plants. The product is especially popular in eastern countries, as well as in Africa and on the tables of the Mediterranean. The famous aioli sauce is made from garlic, olive oil and egg yolk, in Catalonia they also add a pear.

For eating, dried garlic is taken in ground form, in flakes, in flour. Fresh or canned, it is put into pickles, sausages, etc.

It is also interesting to know that Koreans, Chinese and Italians eat at least 8 cloves of garlic a day.