The term "vegetable" generally refers to the edible part of a plant. Although, this definition is somewhat arbitrary and subjective, as it is determined by individual cultural customs of cooking and food preparation.

Normally, any herbaceous plant or plant part which is regularly eaten as food by humans would be considered to be a vegetable. In general, vegetables are regarded by cooks as being suitable for savory or salted dishes, rather than sweet dishes, although there are many exceptions to this.