What type of veg would you call a leek?

Sallywally1

All I know is that a shepherds pie with leeks makes it more tasty!

On a separate I find it very annoying that supermarkets sell all sorts of vegetables in bags, so you have to buy, say, five lemons when you only wanted one

All excess packaging riles me. The other day I found turnips in Waitrose (not easy to find nowadays) - two of them in a plastic container, which was then wrapped in plastic film. When I got them home they were positively wet! I had to leave them out for hours to dry off - they’d very soon have rotted if left.

Why on earth they weren’t sold loose I don’t understand.

I planted a load of seed potatoes a few months back and one of our night creatures dug the lot up and ate them. Anyone want a couple of brushtailed possums? They also eat rhubarb including the leaves which I was always told were deadly poison. Not for them, it seems. Grrr. One thing about oniony things,presumably also leeks, they don’t like them. Yay.

We don't earth up leeks or potatoes after planting, but we grow everything in raised beds. For leeks I make a two inch hole with a dibber, put the baby leek plant in and replace the earth, then leave it to get on with it. I usually buy a bundle of thirty from the market. I can't remember if you can do that in the UK?
Potatoes are laid flat on the soil and covered with straw, they are much cleaner and easier to find that way.
Leeks definitely not root vegetables, I agree with NotSpaghetti.
My autumn planted broad beans are just starting to put on growth. 😊

Not sure the average shopper knows what a brassica or allium is but it would be interesting to see if the red cabbages are under greens?
Leeks are white and green stems ( not roots), so I also wonder where the spring onions and pak choi are?

Let's hope so Callistemon21!
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Will this thread run until St David's Day?

All I know is that a shepherds pie with leeks makes it more tasty!

On a separate I find it very annoying that supermarkets sell all sorts of vegetables in bags, so you have to buy, say, five lemons when you only wanted one

Leeks as other have said are onion family.
I refuse to use self service checkouts and always ask for a manned checkout. I was told by a manager that shoppers of course have a choice (great pity one has to make a pointed request though).

Can I please throw potatoes into the discussion?

They too have to be dug up from underground, but they are not roots, they are storage tubers growing on thinner stems from the main stems of the plants They are full of sttarch which the plant has stored away to be used by new plants for sustenance while they grow from the tuber and form their own roots and stems.

If the potato plant is not earthed up, there are only relatively few of these tubers, just under the surface, but gardeners and farmers pile earth up the stems and the plant grows more tubers from further up the earth-covered stem so that it can store more starch.

Root vegetable means you are basically eating the taproot as far as I'm concerned- for example carrots, turnips, parsnips, radishes, beetroot etc. As they get bigger they can be visible (a bit) above ground but you are actually selecting the root of the plant for eating.

Yes, but a lot of veg have their roots underground (the usual place for roots after all)

That tickled me 🤣🤣🤣

My orchid has air roots

Most growing things have roots underground .......

Just saying 😁

Freya5

My friend grows the most amazing leeks. They are allium, related to chives, garlic, onions, shallots. This delicious veg has its roots underground, and has to be pulled / dug out, so is a root vegetable,

Yes, but a lot of veg have their roots underground (the usual place for roots after all) but that doesn’t make them root veg. If you pulled up or dug up a cabbage rather than cutting it, or e.g. a handful of spinach, it would have roots attached, but they’d usually be discarded.

Don’t the Yanks call spring onions scallions, too?

And mangetout are ‘snow peas’ IIRC.

Callistemon21

nanna8

Funny, I just bought a leek. Not something I buy very often. I make soup with them. Definitely ‘root vegetable’ here. Just curious, but how much do they cost there? Mine was around $3 just for the one ( about £1.50).

Yes, but that's Australia where you call a beautiful prize winning garden a back yard!!

😁

And spring onions are called scallions!!

nanna8

Funny, I just bought a leek. Not something I buy very often. I make soup with them. Definitely ‘root vegetable’ here. Just curious, but how much do they cost there? Mine was around $3 just for the one ( about £1.50).

Yes, but that's Australia where you call a beautiful prize winning garden a back yard!!

😁

nanna8

Funny, I just bought a leek. Not something I buy very often. I make soup with them. Definitely ‘root vegetable’ here. Just curious, but how much do they cost there? Mine was around $3 just for the one ( about £1.50).

I’ve actually found my receipt!

LEEKS LOOSE, 0.260 kg @ £2.58/kg, £0.67p.

It was quite a big one, v nice in main-meal soup last night, along with yellow lentils and lots of other veg.

Katie59

At Waitrose it’s with Onions not root vegetables like Potatoes or Swedes

Waitrose 🤔 thinking .... we went yesterday
First the caulis and broccoli, then sprouts, then courgettes (technically a fruit 😄) then the leeks.

The carrots, swede, parsnips are on a separate stand opposite.

Funny, I just bought a leek. Not something I buy very often. I make soup with them. Definitely ‘root vegetable’ here. Just curious, but how much do they cost there? Mine was around $3 just for the one ( about £1.50).

Interesting Katie59 - would love to know where other supermarkets put them now...
Thank you!

Tanjamaltija

Italians do eat the roots. www.kcrw.com/culture/shows/good-food/recipe-fried-leek-roots

And here is the photo!

At Waitrose it’s with Onions not root vegetables like Potatoes or Swedes

Elegran

A time lapse video of a leek from seed to harvest - www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsPduzlct2E Not relevant to which bit you think you are eating, but nice to watch.

Brilliant! I don’t know how anyone could watch that and still call a leek a root vegetable. And TBH I’d still call it a ‘green’ vegetable, whether that’s strictly correct or not.

It reminded me of Attenborough’s Private Life of Plants series, so fascinating. I particularly remember footage of the tiny flowering plant that grows on walls (stonecrop?) - the flower heads waving around to find a suitable crevice to deposit their seeds in.

Italians do eat the roots. www.kcrw.com/culture/shows/good-food/recipe-fried-leek-roots

What type of vegetable is a leek? A Welsh one of course!