Crudités

Celery and strips of red and green bell pepper, with dip

Celery and carrot crudité platter

Crudités are traditional French appetizers comprising sliced or whole raw vegetables which are sometimes dipped in a vinaigrette or another dipping sauce. Crudités often include celery sticks, carrot sticks, bell pepper strips, broccoli, cauliflower, and asparagus spears; sometimes olives depending on local customs.

The French word "crudité", which designates uncooked vegetables, originates in much the same way as the English word "crude," from Latin. The Latin word "crūdus" simply means raw. Later, it was refined to "crūditās", which means "undigested food" and then on to "crudité" in French.