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I thought only edible was correct, even Google suggested edible when I did a search to see which one was more popular on the internet:
The first results are from dictionaries, the meaning being "that can be eaten".
What's the difference between them?
I think eatable is more often used to mean palatable.
Whereas edible is more often used in relation to plants etc that are not poisonous.
But there is an overlap.
(I learnt the sample usage trick from Anthony Quinn)
I always assumed it's like the difference between "readable" and "legible". The former is a measure of how comfortable it is to read (e.g. short lines are more readable than long lines), and the latter simply whether it can be read at all, or not.
As cindi says, like the difference between palatable and not poisonous.
In 'Crocodile Dundee', the ingenue looks at some 'bush tucker' and asks "Is it really edible?", to which the hero replies "Well, you can live on it ...but it tastes like shit." Good example of something edible but not eatable - unless you're really hungry, which brings the two closer together.
Edible-Something that , anyone can eat. It is not poisionus and safe to consume. Like-milk,sugar,egg,floar etc
Eatable-Something that you can eat but can't enjoy. Like- make a batter of milk,sugar,egg & floar.It is safe to eat as we make cake out of it, but never enjoyable.
Ex- This red one is not an 'edible' berry . Ex- This cake she made , is not at all 'eatable' due to heavy salt.
The SOED gives one definition of eatable as an adjective: "food in a state to be eaten". That definition does not seem to me to carry any negative connotation; it refers to food, after all.
The SOED also gives a definition of the noun eatable as an item of food (usually in the plural). That usage does not necessarily carry any negative connotation. I have certainly heard 'eatables' used to denote food that was entirely delicious.
