Get to know your produce—how to pick it out, how to clean it, and how to prepare it—with our vegetables guides that answer all your burning questions.

Explore Vegetable Guides

All Vegetables
Tomato puree being poured into a pan with sautéed onions on a stovetop surface
The Genius Tomato Sauce Upgrade Italians Have Always Known About
Stacked slices of green zucchini and yellow squash on a cutting board, arranged neatly
Zucchini Deserves Better—Here's How to Cook It Right
Assorted vegetables sliced and seasoned, arranged on a tray for cooking
The One Vegetable You're Grilling All Wrong—and How to Fix It
A person finely dicing an onion with a knife on a wooden cutting board
Never Cry While Cutting Onions Again—This Science-Backed Trick Actually Works
Sliced cooked onion rounds
Forget the Skillet—This Microwave Trick Gets You Great Onions Fast
Fennel Graphic
What Is Fennel? Everything to Know and Love About This Fragrant Plant
20131009-caesar-salad-food-lab-11-Edit.jpg
I Asked 5 Chefs How to Make the Perfect Salad—Here's What They Said
Asparagus being blanched in a large stock pot filled with water. Someone is removing the asparagus with a pair of tongs.
The One Big Vegetable Cooking Tip Almost Everyone Gets Wrong (Including Chefs)
Graphic of shallots and white onions
Shallots vs. Onions: The Most Important Differences, According to an Expert
Lettuce Graphic
Do You Know Your Salad Greens? A Guide to Lettuces, Chicories, and other Leafy Greens
Collage of mushrooms
19 Mushroom Varieties You Should Be Cooking With
20191016-cooked-yellow-yam-shutterstock
What's the Actual Difference Between Yams and Sweet Potatoes?
Green potatoes graphic
Is It Safe to Eat Green Potatoes? Here's What a Food Safety Expert Told Us
Thai Basil vs Italian Basil
Italian (Sweet) Basil vs. Thai Basil: What's the Difference?
Graphic of sweet corn and field corn
Field Corn vs. Sweet Corn: What's the Difference?
Summer squash
A Guide to Summer Squash Varieties
Side view of brining vegetables
The Science of Brining Vegetables
Collage of eggplants
A Guide to 10 Types of Eggplant and How to Cook With Them
How to Store Green Beans
Graphic of white vs yellow onions
The Difference Between Yellow and White Onions Is More Than Skin Deep
Overhead view of roasted butternut squash in a bowl
How to Roast Butternut Squash
Roasted Delicata Squash on a turquoise platter, surrounded by thanksgiving dishes on a blue tablecloth
How to Roast Delicata Squash
Overhead view of asparagus on a plate
How to Cook Asparagus
Wild ramps growing in the woods
How to Sustainably Harvest Ramps
A pile of asparagus spears that have been slightly charred.
How to Buy, Store, Prep, and Cook Asparagus | The Food Lab
Hands holding a pairing knife and a halved garlic clove. The tip of the pairing knife is prying the germ from the clove.
What Is a Garlic Germ, and Should You Remove It?
A bundle of culantro with some chopped culantro on a small wood cutting board. From Shutterstock.
What Is Culantro, and How to Use It
An overhead of two boxes full of tomatoes. The left box contains all the same type of red tomato and the right box contains tomatoes of various colors and sizes
How to Store Tomatoes (and Whether to Refrigerate Them)
20140125-smooth-vegetable-puree-soup-food-lab-1.jpg
How to Make Creamy Vegetable Soups Without a Recipe | The Food Lab
Three towel-lined trays filled with freshly washed kale and lettuce.
How to Clean and Store Fresh Produce
Dry-charred asparagus, served on an earthenware plate with a ramekin of miso bearnaise.
Dry-Charring Is the Best and Fastest Way to Cook a Side of Asparagus
20191010-green-bean-knife-skills-vicky-wasik-31
How to Buy, Prep, and Cut Green Beans
20121210-sunchoke-kenji.jpg
Get to Know Sunchokes, a.k.a. Jerusalem Artichokes
a bowl of roasted sweet potato chunks
A Field Guide to Sweet Potato Varieties (and the Dirt on Yams)
9 Japanese Vegetables You Should Know
Kimchi in a bowl with broth.
Kimchi 101: It Ain't Just Cabbage
20180521-ginger-vicky-wasik-7
How to Prepare and Store Ginger
Overhead view of garlic scape pesto in a small bowl next to a wide rimmed, shallow bowl of cooked white beans and pesto
Garlic Scape Pesto (And 6 More Ideas for Garlic's Green Shoot)
cryoblanch-beans-2.jpg
How to Cryo-Blanch Vegetables | The Food Lab
Closeup of freshly harvested green and purple olives in sunlight
14 Types of Olives Worth Seeking Out
Cilantro in declining states of freshness
The Best Way to Store Fresh Herbs
Ingredients for mirepoix; diced carrots, celery, and onions on a cutting board.
All About Mirepoix, Sofrito, Battuto, and Other Humble Beginnings
Overhead of time different varieties of potatoes in various colors and sizes.
Potatoes 101: All You Need to Know About Common Spuds
2020-6-4-veg-scrap-stock13-sho-spaeth
Save Your Vegetable Scraps, Make Stock
20090930colorfulchiles.jpg
Serious Heat: A Guide to Chile Substitutions
20150317-drying-herbs-storage-5.jpg
Use the Microwave to Dry Your Herbs for Long-Lasting Intense Flavor
A pile of different types of whole, unpeeled onions on a cutting board.
A Beginner's Guide to Onions
A variety of colorful Japanese pickles.
Do You Know Your Tsukemono? A Guide to Japanese Pickles
20150428-baby-corn-shutterstock-3.jpg
What Is Baby Corn?
Guajillo chilies
What to Do With Dried Chiles: Recipes, Cooking Techniques, and Shopping Tips
A four image collage of various Asian greens
The Serious Eats Field Guide to Asian Greens
Whole ripe tomatoes on a plate with their top sides down.
Want Juicier Tomatoes? Store Them Upside Down
20140930-past-mushroom-sausage-cast-iron-baked-01.jpg
How to Clean Shiitake, Portobello, and Oyster Mushrooms | Knife Skills
An assortment of different varieties of Chinese greens on five white plates.
Chinese Greens 101: Three Basic Cooking Techniques for Chinese Greens
White button mushrooms piled on a wooden cutting board.
How to Clean and Prepare Mushrooms | Knife Skills
20150320-artichoke-prep-vicky-wasik-5.jpg
How to Clean, Trim, and Prepare Artichokes
How To Cook And Use Chrysanthemum Greens
Three fennel bulbs on a marble surface
How to Cut Fennel