h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Here's a riddle for people working on the Create gardening challenge:

What's the most aristocratic vegetable?

Over here in the US, 'Broccoligate' has erupted all over again, and with it, the never-ending discussion of which veggies are 'elitist'.

Back when George HW Bush (the father) was president, he caused a flap when he refused to eat broccoli. He said he didn't LIKE it, and he didn't have to EAT it, because he was president, so there.

Me, I've always loved broccoli. But I grew up thinking it was exotic. See, it won't grow down here. When we moved to Pittsburgh, I was introduced to it in school. With cheese sauce. When I told my mom about it, she tried it out, and the family was converted. We fought over the broccoli at the dinner table - even my dad. Of course, my mom always said my dad would 'eat anything if you put cream sauce on it'.

Back to presidents.

Now, we suspect - though this may be cynical of us - that Mr Obama listens to his wife a lot better than Mr Bush does. He's a Democrat, and all. Mrs Obama is a health nut. She wants kids to eat their vegetables. Good for her. Although according to recent statistics, the Mexicans are now fatter than we are, we're still up there in the overweight category, so veggies are a very good idea. And part of the problem is getting people over the silly idea that vegetables are for sissies. She must have been pleased when Mr Obama told a bunch of schoolchildren that his favourite food was broccoli.

Republicans cried foul. They accused him of lying to innocent children.

A former Bush aide, Ari Fleischer, tweeted this outraged comment:

'What kind of POTUS says his fav food is broccoli? Same one who in 2008 complained about the price of arugula in Whole Foods.'

The 'Whole Foods' crack is a sort of class-warfare slur. As 'New York' online remarked, 'real Americans eat "lettuce" that they shoot themselves ...'

The Obamas do well to draw attention to the yumminess of vegetables. Since the US population moved off the farm, they don't eat enough of them. When I was growing up, two vegetables per evening meal, at least, were standard, and we loved them all. We never met one we didn't like. These days, I notice how unfamiliar they are to young people every time I check out at the grocery. They puzzle over the items before finding the key code. Please.

Where I come from, okra is an ordinary veggie. So are mustard greens. But arugula is a new concept. Heck, my folks thought brussels sprouts were exotic. Oh, and asparagus was wonderfully foreign.

So, h2g2ers: what's the classiest vegetable you know? What can we recommend for the Obama table for elegant White House dining?

And do you know any good recipes?

I've never thought of vegetables and classiness
I had imagined the vegetable class system to have been abolished years ago

I think the most adaptable (and widest used) veg in our household is the humble potato but its probably not very high up in the class system
same goes for carrots and swede

hmm... classy veg...
I think I might have to get back to you on that,
as a scots woman anything with redeeming health value in food is a foreign concept

I get you. Isn't it a strange idea, vegetables as class distinction?

We didn't grow p with root vegetables, apart from 'Irish potatoes'. and sweet potatoes. We didn't even get carrots outside the store - although we were big on radishes. The little red ones.

When you say 'turnips' here, as in 'I want some turnips', you mean you're going to cook the green part. If you have any little turnips in the ground, you can throw them in, too, when you cook the greens.

The ultimate aristocratic vegetable must be the truffle (which I know isn't a vegetable, but a fungus. But for culinary purposes mushrooms are vegetables, so don't get all Linnaean on me!)

I'm not a purist. But I've never even seen a truffle. You're right, it must be really classy. All those pigs can't be wrong.

perhaps they are the least classy of vegetable just with the best PR

I think asparagus is still slightly exotic here. Common enough in supermarkets, but until recently it was still fairly pricy. When I moved to the USA, I couldn't believe the size of the bunches of asparagus you could get for 99 cents (which was about 60 pence here I think).

(To compare, that amount would have been about £3-£4 here.)

Unfortunately, with things in the mess they are, that same bunch of asparague now costs $2.50 on sale, often higher.

A veg that I haven't tried is endive. I've never seen the point of putting something lettuce-like in sauce and make a gratin of it... But who knows, perhaps it's delicious?

Only a couple of generations ago, tomatoes were eyed with suspicion here. But now you find all sorts of funny veg around, with the asian, african and middle east populations growing. I love it.

But I've also discovered how good roasted root veg are - parsnips, turnips, carrots, beets, just with oil and salt in the oven... to the point where my children roll their eyes and say "not again".

Hey, that sounds like a tip, with those root veg! Thanks!

I've never heard of people cooking endive, either.

In the early 1800s, people north of the Mason/Dixon didn't know you could eat tomatoes, either. About 1830, I believe it was, some daredevil in New York City put out flyers that he was going to eat one in public. People showed up.

It's probably because the tomato plant is very close to the potato plant - but the equivalent bit on the potato is poisonous.

Every now and again on gardening forums, you see the comment:

"Hey, cool! There are little tomatoes growing on my potato plant!"

...followed by a lot of persuading that eating these "tomatoes" would be a very bad idea.

That's kind of them.

The classiest vegetable must be the radish. Because we can grow it in our national colours. And hope never to see a radish in Swedish colours

Radish. Not totally rad. Only rad-ish. Like.

As a lab in chemistry first term at uni, I used varying pH on radishes - managed to have a nice scale from purple to yellow orange - but no blue. You're safe, .

artichokes are something of a posh persons veg, I mean several hours of peeling just to eat the mushy bit in the middle?

I suppose one would have the cook or scullery maid perform the task if one lived in the White House..

Don't know what they cost in US ,probably cheap as chips and nowhere near as tasty!

FWR

Oooh, artichokes! I really love the peeling - dipping of the petals, taking time, chatting, with wine. Yes, the center is good, but the petals are great too.

due to climate change, we are growing a wider spectrum of veg etcbut still by far! the greatest diversity of vegetables are in parliament running the country

Milla is right. Leave the petals for me and her if you don't want them yourselves

The only time I ever had an artichoke, we ate the petals. With some sort of sauce. It was interesting.

Of course, there's the ancient artichoke joke from 'The Little Rascals':

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2n5oH6xzLN4