US Congress Declares "Pizza Is A Vegetable"

[Dakini]

Well that's an incredible loophole. Actually: pizzas can be considered vegetarian provided that there's no meat. However there's no way it can be declared vegan until the cheese is removed... then unfortunately you'd then lose the best parts of the pizzas.

There's vegan cheese... which isn't quite as awesome, but it's ok.

If I was vegan, you can bet I'd be exploring ways to make a delicious vegan pizza, but since I'm not I'll just stick to delicious meatless pizzas with the weird toppings I enjoy the most.

[Grave_n_idle]

How big are pizzas at schools? I remember they were shaped like boats but I don't remember the size.

Also, I love extra onions in all tomato sauces.

I dunno how they are in schools (especially schools in the US), but if you have a bigger pizza, unless you go to a thicker crust you're not going to be putting 1/2 cup of sauce per slice.

Pizza soup.

*nods*

[Ifreann]

I dunno how they are in schools (especially schools in the US), but if you have a bigger pizza, unless you go to a thicker crust you're not going to be putting 1/2 cup of sauce per slice.

Pizza soup.

*nods*

I mentioned pizza wine earlier in the thread.

[Horsefish]

Pizza soup.

*nods*

I mentioned pizza wine earlier in the thread.

And people still don't care

[Greed and Death]

If I read the OP article right, it needs 1/4 of a cup now to count as a vegetable, and the proposed change was to over 1/4 cup. Could be wrong, though.

I thought USDA only recognized 1/2 cup of veggies as a full serving of veggies. So the industry and congress want to cut it down to 1/4?

Another concern of mine here is that the sauce is almost certainly heavily processed with lots of salt and sugar added for deliciousness...

It varies depending on the vegetable in question. I think the argument with sauce was that it has less water in it then a tomato normally would.

[Ovisterra]

So they "combat obesity" by making schools serve lotsa vegetables, but then declare that pizza counts? A normal pizza (tomato sauce, cheese, dough) doesn't even contain a single vegetable. A fruit and some dairy, yes, but no vegetables.

I weep for the future of the world.

[Bleckonia]

Tomatoes are vegetables.

[Lolzland3]

-has always thought americans were thich and usless fat swine-

[Charlotte Ryberg]

Well that's an incredible loophole. Actually: pizzas can be considered vegetarian provided that there's no meat. However there's no way it can be declared vegan until the cheese is removed... then unfortunately you'd then lose the best parts of the pizzas.

There's vegan cheese... which isn't quite as awesome, but it's ok.

If I was vegan, you can bet I'd be exploring ways to make a delicious vegan pizza, but since I'm not I'll just stick to delicious meatless pizzas with the weird toppings I enjoy the most.

Well, I have to admit that I have the enthusiasm for mature cheese.

[Kandorith]

Tomatoes are vegetables.

Tomatoes are fruit. read more.

-has always thought americans were thich and usless fat swine-

Trying to read that gives me a headache...

[Galla-]

I'm probably not going to mention to my Congressman and Senators that tomatoes are actually a fruit.

Tomatoes are both fruits and vegetables.

Tomatoes are vegetables.

Tomatoes are fruit. read more.

They're both.

[Kandorith]

I'm probably not going to mention to my Congressman and Senators that tomatoes are actually a fruit.

Tomatoes are both fruits and vegetables.

No they're fruits.

Fruit The ripened seed-bearing part of a plant when fleshy and edible.
In other words, a "fruit" is any fleshy material covering a seed or seeds.

[Galla-]

Tomatoes are both fruits and vegetables.

No they're fruits.

While it is botanically a fruit, it is considered a vegetable for culinary purposes (as well as by the United States Supreme Court, see Nix v. Hedden), which has caused some confusion.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomato

It's both. "Vegetable" is not a scientific term. A tomato has seeds inside it, it is a fruit, but is considered a vegetable by those in culinary fields.

[Osthia]

WHAT!? Out of all of the issues they can be solving, they choose THIS? Congress, it would seem, is no longer a house of the people. It is a house for corporations and lobbyists. When something that could save the economy comes up, they all disagree and drag their heels. But when something as trivial as this comes up, they all join hands and sing kumbayah! Honestly, this pisses me off beyong measurement.

[Ovisterra]

Tomatoes are vegetables.

Depending on your definition. I go for using the strict, technical definition of fruit. If it's from a plant and it's not a fruit, I chuck it in the "vegetable" box, unless it fits the description of herbs, spices or seasoning.

My technical definition of fruit being the product of the swelling of the ovary of a flowering plant when it has germinated. This includes your usual fruit stuff like apples, oranges, grapes etc. and some others like tomato and coconut.

[Galla-]

Tomatoes are vegetables.

Depending on your definition. I go for using the strict, technical definition of fruit. If it's from a plant and it's not a fruit, I chuck it in the "vegetable" box, unless it fits the description of herbs, spices or seasoning.

My technical definition of fruit being the product of the swelling of the ovary of a flowering plant when it has germinated. This includes your usual fruit stuff like apples, oranges, grapes etc. and some others like tomato and coconut.

Pea pods are a fruit, too.

[Ovisterra]

No they're fruits.

While it is botanically a fruit, it is considered a vegetable for culinary purposes (as well as by the United States Supreme Court, see Nix v. Hedden), which has caused some confusion.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomato

It's both. "Vegetable" is not a scientific term. A tomato has seeds inside it, it is a fruit, but is considered a vegetable by those in culinary fields.

Basically. Vegetable can and will be applied to anything that is eaten and comes from a plant. Fruit is more scientific.

[Ovisterra]

Depending on your definition. I go for using the strict, technical definition of fruit. If it's from a plant and it's not a fruit, I chuck it in the "vegetable" box, unless it fits the description of herbs, spices or seasoning.

My technical definition of fruit being the product of the swelling of the ovary of a flowering plant when it has germinated. This includes your usual fruit stuff like apples, oranges, grapes etc. and some others like tomato and coconut.

Pea pods are a fruit, too.

True.

[Kandorith]

Ooh I see.. the almighty Wikipedia wisdom, I can do that too:

In biology, a "fruit" is a part of a flowering plant that derives from specific tissues of the flower, mainly one or more ovaries. Taken strictly, this definition excludes many structures that are "fruits" in the common sense of the term, such as those produced by non-flowering plants (like juniper berries, which are the seed-containing female cones of conifers.

All hail Wikipedia.

Tomatoes are fruits, no matter how you want to define it, they are.

"Culinary" bla bla has nothing to do with it, Tomatoes are fruit.

And I still find the US Congress... utterly silly...

[Galla-]

Ooh I see.. the almighty Wikipedia wisdom, I can do that too:

In biology, a "fruit" is a part of a flowering plant that derives from specific tissues of the flower, mainly one or more ovaries. Taken strictly, this definition excludes many structures that are "fruits" in the common sense of the term, such as those produced by non-flowering plants (like juniper berries, which are the seed-containing female cones of conifers.

All hail Wikipedia.

Tomatoes are fruits, no matter how you want to define it, they are.

"Culinary" bla bla has nothing to do with it, Tomatoes are fruit.

And I still find the US Congress... utterly silly...

Too bad, tomatoes are vegetables under US law, and the entire point of this thread is culinary in nature.

[Grave_n_idle]

-has always thought americans were thich and usless fat swine-

Seems like pointless flamebait.

[Farnhamia]

Tomato paste? Who the fuck puts a quarter cup of tomato paste on a single slice of pizza? O tempora, o mores!

[Iuuvic]

Tomato paste? Who the fuck puts a quarter cup of tomato paste on a single slice of pizza? O tempora, o mores!

Are they mixing it in the sauce or is it the sauce?

[Farnhamia]

Tomato paste? Who the fuck puts a quarter cup of tomato paste on a single slice of pizza? O tempora, o mores!

Are they mixing it in the sauce or is it the sauce?

There's a big difference between paste and sauce. I could see 1/4 cup of sauce per slice, but tomato paste is that very thick stuff that comes in small cans that you use by the tablespoon. There are four tablespoons in a quarter cup (59.2 mL for those of the metric persuasion).

[Tekania]

Tomatoes are vegetables.

Tomatoes are fruit. read more.

-has always thought americans were thich and usless fat swine-

Trying to read that gives me a headache...

He does read more... which is why he realizes that in culinary and nutritional use, tomatoes are vegetables.... By scientific terms they are indeed fruits, being the seed containing organ of the plant... but then, so are chilies, cucumbers, squash, and green beans.