Do potatoes count towards your 5-A-DAY? Is the tomato really a vegetable? Are aubergines eggplants? Is Wikipedia a reliable resource? Whatever the decree on the above, knowing how your vegetables are prepared will enhance the dining experience and leave you in good stead when at the local épicerie.

The chefs out there will apprciate what a bit of seasoning (aromates) or sweet herbs (fines herbes) can do for a dish. Vegetables can be prepared with basil (au pistou), sweet (sucré), sour (aigre), spicy (piquant), raw (crudités), and - with the flick of a wrist - salty (salé). Your veggies can also come on a skewer (à la broche), steamed (la vapeur), stewed (à l'etouffée), baked (au four), boiled (bouilli), stuffed (farci), fried (frit) or grilled (grillé).

Vegetables | Les Légumes