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By Root 1175 0

apples, pears, peaches, cherries, tomatoes, cucumbers, squashes, eggplant, bell peppers, and avocados are all fruits. So why do we call some of these fruits “vegetables”? There are two definitions of “fruit.” The one we discussed already is the botanical definition, the role that fruit plays in the life cycle of a plant. But the common use of the word is based on a culinary understanding, which says that fruits are sweet. So any botanical fruit that we don’t like to taste sugary (tomatoes, cucumber, squashes, etc.) we call a “vegetable.” For the purpose of this discussion, let’s call them “fruit-vegetables.”

Sweetness develops as a fruit ripens, and for some fruit-vegetables, like tomatoes or corn, that sweet flavor is desirable, but for others, like cucumber or zucchini, ripeness is akin to rottenness. Think about the signs of ripeness—yielding flesh, sweet flowing juice, a potent perfume—is this what you want in a cucumber? Ripe cucumbers are yellow and squishy. Ripe zucchini are flaccid and slimy with seeds. In these fruit-vegetables we want other qualities–firmness, crispness, greenness, and a clean, fresh smell. So go ahead and judge the quality of fruit-fruits by how ripe they are, but choose your fruit-vegetables by the opposite criterion.

Roots, stems, vegetables, and fruits can all be grilled. A few leaf vegetables such as romaine, endive, radicchio, and cabbage can also be deliciously transformed by a short sojourn over a fire. However, the main attraction of moist, delicate leaves in a grilled meal is their ability to refresh the palate after it has been overcome by a plate of spicy barbecue or saturated by the rich juices of a grilled porterhouse.

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04. Leaves

Leaves produce energy for a plant by transforming sun and air into sugar (photosynthesis). To do their job, leaves are broad and flat so that they can capture the maximum amount of sunlight and water. Inside, they have a network of air pockets to help the flow of carbon dioxide and oxygen through the cell walls where photosynthesis takes place. This aerated framework makes leaves much more susceptible to dehydration and bruising than other vegetables. Although they are the most delicate part of a plant, some leaves are heartier than others, and these hearty ones are the best choice for grilling. Cabbage, Brussels sprouts, Belgian endive, radicchio, and romaine all grill beautifully.

05. Flowers

The final vegetable form, flowers, are not typically eaten, and only three of them are ever grilled. Broccoli (the buds of cabbage flowers), cauliflower (the sterile curd of the same plant), and artichokes (a thistle encasing a flowery “choke”) are all enhanced by grilling, but none of them are fully blooming flowers.

The following chart lists the most appropriate produce for grilling. It includes signs of quality and storage information. For preparation and grilling information, see pages 260 and 306.

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PRODUCE FOR GRILLING

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E. Grilled Cheese

Cheese is made by separating milk into solid curd and liquid whey. The whey is drained off and the remaining curd (largely a concentrate of the protein and fat that were in the milk) is pressed into a perforated form where it solidifies, after which it is ripened and aged. Depending on the type of animal (cow, sheep, goat, etc.) that the milk came from, what the animal recently ate, and where it lived, the composition of the curd will be different. Depending on how long and under what conditions the curd is aged, the resulting cheese could be hard or soft, pungent or mild, creamy or crumbly, surface-ripened or blue-veined.

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All these variables mean that there are literally thousands of cheeses, and most of them will never come close to a grill. There is only one reason to ever grill cheese—to melt it. Here’s what you need to know to melt cheese.

Cheese is mostly protein and fat. Dairy fat begins to melt at about 90°F, which causes the cheese to soften slightly and form small beads of liquid fat on the surface. As it gets hotter, the bonds that hold the protein together