Desert Island Vegetables 8

In the UK there is a long-running radio show where a guest chooses eight records/compact discs to take with them to an imaginary desert island. I have adapted this idea and in seven previous posts have chosen vegetables to take with me on a desert island. This is my eighth and final choice as I decide from all the possible vegetables left which one to take.

To aid me in this difficult decision I have consulted my copy of “Amaranth to Zucchini” by Elizabeth Schneider. This is an American book that is packed full of interesting information on 350 different vegetables together with various recipes and tips to cook them. In the end though my choice is not in the book because of the difficulty in deciding what is a vegetable or a fruit. So while various fungi are listed in the book, sweet peppers are not.

As with my previous choice of tomatoes I am going to use the culinary definitions of fruits and vegetables that place peppers in the vegetable category; botanically both are fruits.

Although my decision was based purely on culinary reasoning a bit of further research shows there are many health benefits to include peppers in my list. For example they are rich in Vitamin C and contain more (by weight) than citrus fruits.

With my list of eight vegetables for my desert island completed and the arrival of Spring marked by the equinox today my next post will be from my vegetable plot.