Spanish Vegetables Vocabulary Exercise 2

More vegetables — texture and taste — los espárragos (asparagus — always plural), el betabel (beetroot — Mexico; la remolacha in Spain), los champiñones (mushrooms), los chiles (chillies), los jitomates (tomatoes — Mexico; los tomates elsewhere), el rábano (radish). A set of flavourful, characterful vegetables.

Jitomate vs. tomate — In Mexico, el jitomate refers to the red tomato; el tomate can mean the green tomatillo. Everywhere else in Spanish, el tomate is the standard word for the red tomato. Los espárragos (asparagus) is used only in the plural — like in English. Los chiles can range from mild to extremely hot; always ask ¿Pica mucho? (Is it very spicy?).

At the market and in recipes — Medio kilo de champiñones, por favor (Half a kilo of mushrooms, please). Los espárragos a la plancha son deliciosos (Grilled asparagus is delicious). ¿Qué tan picante son esos chiles? (How spicy are those chillies?). Haz una ensalada con betabel y zanahoria (Make a salad with beetroot and carrot). El rábano da un toque crujiente (Radish adds a crunchy touch).