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From:	Jeff Novick, MS, RD, LD, LN (novick.vegsource.com)
Subject:	Re: cucumbers
Date:	June 9, 2008 at 3:48 pm PST

In Reply to: cucumbers posted by k.d. on June 9, 2008 at 8:10 am:

Hi KD

>>>are cucumbers a fruit or a veggie or in the 'greens' categories.

Good question.

The confusion comes in because we have different systems that use different definitions.

Botanically (or scientifically) speaking, by plant classification, cucumbers are a fruit.

Nutritionally speaking, by traditional food groups classification, cucumbers are a vegetable.

By culinary tradition, it is a vegetable.

I can't speak for other people, or know what they are saying/meaning, typically when people speak of greens, they mean greens like collards, kale, lettuce, spinach, broccoli, etc

As there is no official definition of "greens" you may find some who count cucumbers and some who don't when they say greens.

Here is what really matters...

Cucumbers, while maybe not quite as nutrient dense as some of the green leafies I mentioned above, are very low in calorie density and fairly high in nutrient density.

That makes them a great food!

In Health
Jeff

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