Tasting Table Asks: Which Vegetable Is Best For At-Home Cooking?
There are plenty of good reasons to add more vegetables to your diet. Whether you're going full-scale vegetarian, worried about climate change, or just trying to add nutrition, putting more vegetables on your dinner plate is never a bad idea.
You aren't alone either. According to a study by the CDC, only about 10% of Americans eat the recommended daily amount. GQ notes that this disdain for vegetables has been baked into our culture since we were children. It's no accident, then, that many folks don't understand the full flavor-packed potential of eating fresh vegetables at home. One great way to help this transition is to start shopping at a local farmers market. They're easy to find, thanks to a USDA database, and give vegetarian rookies an opportunity to learn from agricultural producers what they should be cooking with and how to do it.
Tasting Table recently surveyed 588 readers to find out what is the most common vegetable to enjoy at home. The results just might spark some creative inspiration for anyone adding more whole foods to their daily diet.
Onions take top spot
The results of the survey showed a wide array of favorite vegetables for many readers. The lowest ranking food in our exclusive survey of go-to vegetables to cook at home is the zucchini, as only 6% of respondents chose to go with zucchini. That's a shame, as Better Homes & Gardens points out that the summer harvest typically results in a surplus for home gardeners every year. The next most popular, with only 10%, was bell peppers, and just above that was tomatoes — which are technically fruits, but often used like vegetables — with 12% and mushrooms with 16%.
Where respondents were more united was in the case of our frontrunners, onions and broccoli. Onions took home the first place position. This pungent vegetable had nearly a third of the votes with 181 passionate followers (about 30%) casting their ballot in its favor. M&P Engineering says that onions are a staple crop around the globe because they are so easy to grow and can survive in diverse climates. This has allowed them to find a home in many kinds of cuisines; and Foodiosity adds that onions lose much of their overpowering aroma when cooked, instead finding a rich sweetness.
Coming in second place was broccoli with 23% of votes. Broccoli has long been one of America's favorite vegetables. No doubt, this is in part thanks to the cruciferous vegetable's surprisingly high protein content.