Is garlic a vegetable?

psyri · March 2012

Serious question. DH and I were talking about this last night. I said no, it's more like a spice, and you'd have to eat a lot of garlic to equal a serving of vegetables. DH said yes, but he's Portuguese and puts garlic on everything. I mean everything. It seems to seep out of his pores. Lucky me! DH's friend, who is Korean, also said it was a vegetable. Maybe it's a cultural thing? So what says you, H&F?

moshi's paw · March 2012

I'd say it's more of an aromatic than a vegetable. You wouldn't eat a cup of it at a time for a true "serving" of vegetables (or would you?)

Then again I seriously side-eye the official ruling of school lunch "pizza" as a vegetable too...

KatiesCats · March 2012

It's related to onion, shallots, etc. So it's as much a vegetable as those are, I guess.

psyri · March 2012

moshi's paw:
I'd say it's more of an aromatic than a vegetable. You wouldn't eat a cup of it at a time for a true "serving" of vegetables (or would you?)

I wouldn't, but I wouldn't put that past DH. Of course, it depends on how it's prepared. Roasted garlic has more of a sweet flavor, so you could eat it in larger quantities.

Thanks for the info. That makes sense. So I guess answer is technically garlic is a vegetable but you wouldn't necessarily eat it like one.

ditzydi_2000 · March 2012

Well I can see how the Korean friend would say it's a vegetable. We (Koreans) do tend to pickle everything, including garlic, then eat them with rice and what not. So when you make it like that I could see a person getting a full serving. So maybe it is a cultural thing.

ebeth_msn · March 2012

I say vegetable. onions are vegetables, right? if onion is vegetable garlic is a vegetable. granted the amount of garlic used, even if the dish is super garlicky, is likely not approaching something that would provide substantive nutrition.

I'd also put basil, cilantro, and other herbs in the 'vegetable' category if hard pressed. other than the amount you use they aren't that different from salad.