Crudités

Crudités

A celery and carrot crudité platter
Course Hors d'oeuvre
Place of origin France
Main ingredients Raw vegetables, vinaigrette or dipping sauce
Cookbook: Crudités  Media: Crudités

Crudités are traditional French appetizers consisting of sliced or whole raw vegetables[1] which are typically dipped in a vinaigrette or other dipping sauce. Crudités often include celery sticks, carrot sticks, cucumber sticks, bell pepper strips, broccoli, cauliflower, fennel, and asparagus spears; sometimes olives, depending on local custom.

Etymology

Crudités is a French term which according to Merriam-Webster appears to have been first used in 1960[2], from the plural of crudité or "rawness," itself deriving from the Latin cruditas for "indigestion" or "undigested food", coming in turn from crudus for, simply, "raw" (also the origin of the term crude).

Healthy eating

Crudités are generally quite high in healthy nutrients and dietary fiber, and low in calories, fats, sodium, sugars, and cholesterol. However, the accompanying dip can be high in sodium, sugar, and possibly fats, although in the case of a vinaigrette, salsa or hummus typically not in saturated or trans fats. Other dips, such as cheese sauces or dips based on cream, sour cream, or mayonnaise, may have high saturated fat content.

Note that crudités alone do not make for a complete meal, since they may not have enough nutrients.

Since they are uncooked, crudités must be washed carefully to remove any bacterial contamination. Refrigeration is recommended.

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Crudités.
  1. Jessica (2012-12-05). "What Are The Crudités?". Frenchvegetables.com. Archived from the original on 2013-01-23. Retrieved 2013-04-04.
  2. Entry for Crudités in [Merriam-Webster online dictionary]
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