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Root vegetables are underground plant parts eaten by humans or animals asfood. In agricultural and culinary terminology, the term applies to trueroots, such astaproots androot tubers, as well as non-roots such asbulbs,corms,rhizomes, andstem tubers.[1]
Root vegetables are generally energystorage organs containingcarbohydrates such asstarches andsugars.[2]
The following list classifies root vegetables organized by their roots' anatomy.
Many root vegetables keep well inroot cellars, lasting several months. This is one way ofstoring food for use long afterharvest, which is especially important in nontropicallatitudes, wherewinter is traditionally a time of little to no harvesting. There are alsoseason extension methods that can extend the harvest throughout the winter, mostly through the use ofpolytunnels.
Starchy root vegetables are of particular economic importance asstaple foods, especially intropical regions. They overshadowcereals throughout much ofCentral andWest Africa, as well asOceania, in these areas being used directly or mashed to make foods such asfufu orpoi.
However, in the case of potatoes (Figure 10), sweet potatoes, and other root vegetables, readiness for harvest is based on the percentage of a specific size.Potatoes are technically not roots, and sweet potatoes are a type of root labeled as tuberous roots.
