Vegetables form an essential part of our diet. They contain glucose, proteins, mineral salts and vitamins in varying proportions in a form that they can be easily absorbed into the body. They also help to maintain a healthy digestive system. They are extremely valuable in cooking as they can be prepared in many different ways.

Fresh vegetables play a particularly vital role in a balanced diet as their alkaline content neutralizes the acids in high-protein foods. They are rich in iron, sodium, sulphur, magnesium, copper, iodine and vitamins A, B1, B2 and C, all of which help to maintain a healthy nervous system. Fresh vegetables can be eaten raw or cooked. whether or not the mineral and vitamin content is destroyed in cooking depends on the method used. The best method to use is steaming, unpeeled, though some can be grilled. boil and blanching can result in the loss of up to half of the food value, but this can be reclaimed by using the cooking liquid to make soups.

There are endless varieties of potatoes that fall into two main groups: early or new and main-crop or old ones. Early potatoes are usually dug from June to August in the United Kingdom, though imported ones are available much earlier. Main crop potatoes are lifted from late summer onwards when they are fully matured and all their sugars have been converted to starch. They are carefully stored for distribution and used throughout the winter until the arrival of the first new potatoes in the following spring or early summer.

Potatoes can be served with most meats, poultry, fish and even eggs. Many combinations are standard: gigot à la boulangere, chateaubriand with pont-neuf potatoes, hashis Parmentier, Francillon salad, poached fish with steamed or boiled potatoes, numerous garnishes (à la bourgeoise, flamande, Henry IV, maraîchére, Montreuil, Parmentier etc.). The potato also forms the basis of many traditional and regional dishes, both in France and in other countries.; aligot, gratin dauphinois or savoyard, goulash, Irish stew, criques, rosti, saladier lyonnais, pflutters, etc.

There are two main types of rice; the subspecies indica (long grain) which has long grains that remain separate when cooked and the subspecies japonica (short grain), with round grains that tend to stick together when cooked. There are also various intermediate types. Rice is classified according to the type of processing it receives after harvesting.

Rice is also the base of many alcoholic drinks such as choum in Vietnam, samau in Malaysia, sake from Japan, chaoxing in China (chinese yellow or rice wine). Broken rice is sometimes used to replace some of the malt in brewing, finally, rice bran yields an oil similar to groundnut (peanut) oil. It is very high in calorie value (about 350 Cal per 100 grams in whole rice, 120 Cal when blanched). It is also rich in digestible starch (77%), but its proteins lack certain essential amino acids. The external layers contain vitamins B1 and B 2 and minerals and thus whole rice is nutritionally superior to white rice.