Tomato is a fruit or vegetable

It's easy to go through life feeling like you know the difference between a fruit and a vegetable, but it's likely that at one time some truculent pill has tried to disabuse you of the idea that you know your produce. "You know," such a person has said, "a tomato isn't a vegetable; it's a fruit." And maybe even: "Same thing with peppers and cucumbers." (The "so there!" expletive is understood if not explicitly said.) Sigh. Is the truculent pill right? Well, um, yes. Let's not even start on berries. As we discuss in the article on If you're playing the guessing game known (among other variations) as "Animal, Vegetable, Mineral," vegetable is roughly synonymous with plant as that word is most technically defined: "any of a kingdom (Plantae) of multicellular eukaryotic mostly photosynthetic organisms typically lacking locomotive movement or obvious nervous or sensory organs and possessing cellulose cell walls." This dictionary defines it thusly too: a vegetable is sometimes any kind of living thing that lacks both the ability to get around as well as the brain and sensory organs that we associate with animals. But in the grocery store, it's a different matter. The grocery store meaning of the word vegetable is the one herein defined as "a usually herbaceous plant (such as the cabbage, bean, or potato) grown for an edible part that is usually eaten as part of a meal; also : such an edible part." The word herbaceous here refers to the kind of stem vegetable plants have: one wit...

This entry was posted on June 8, 2022 by June 14, 2022) A fruit comes from the ovary of a flowering plant. Any other edible plant part is a vegetable. You say tomato is a fruit. Your friend claims tomato is a vegetable. Who is right? Both of you! Here’s the answer to whether a tomato is a fruit and a look at the botanical and culinary difference between fruits and vegetables. Tl;dr: A tomato is a fruit, but it is usually considered a vegetable. Is Tomato a Fruit? Whether a tomato is a fruit or a vegetable depends on your reference. • In the broadest sense, all edible plant parts are vegetables. This include fruits and even non-plants, like mushrooms and seaweed. So, a tomato is a vegetable. • Under the botanical definition, a tomato is a fruit because it comes from the mature ovary of the plant. • In cooking, a tomato usually is considered a vegetable because it is not very sweet and isn’t traditionally suitable for dessert. • In 1893, the US Supreme Court ruled a tomato is a vegetable and not a fruit. This was for taxation purposes and the group acknowledged tomatoes are botanically fruit. Technically, a tomato is a fruit. In cooking, it’s usually considered a vegetable. A Broad Definition of a Vegetable If you play the game “20 Questions,” a common starting question explores whether the item is animal, vegetable, or mineral. It’s a “ The broad definition of a vegetable is an edible plant or portion of a plant. Mushrooms (fungi) and seaweed (algae) technically are not pla...

It's a food debate as old as time: What, exactly, is a Most home cooks use it like a vegetable but, technically speaking, it’s a fruit. In honor of National Tomato Day, let’s take a closer look. Is a tomato a fruit or a vegetable? It's time to settle the debate! STEPHEN GIBSON PHOTOHOME.CO.UK According to the If tomato is a fruit not vegetable, so does that mean ketchup is a smoothie?— Khalifa. (@DaRealKsM) While the world sorts this all out, the ketchup maker says it will start selling special edition bottles of Heinz Tomato Fruit Ketchup and Heinz Tomato Vegetable Ketchup. Depending on the poll results, they’ll continue selling bottles of whatever America says a tomato is. But if you don't want to deal with that messy bottle, you can just opt for Is ketchup made with fruits or vegetables? Now you can decide. Heinz Now, it’s time to settle how to say it: to-MAY-to or to-MAH-to?

Is tomato a fruit or a vegetable? It is a trick question, because the answer depends on who you ask. A botanist will tell you that it’s a fruit, but ask a lawyer and you’ll have a different answer. The fruit versus vegetable controversy is an old one, and even though the science is clear on that, it pops up in the press every few years. A fruit is the seed-bearing structure of a plant that develops from the ovary of the flower. A vegetable is any part of a plant which we consume. This can include flowers, stems, leaves, roots, seeds, and even fruits themselves. Fruit is a botanical term, whereas vegetable is a culinary term, and to mix both can only create confusion. But fruits also have a culinary meaning. Fruits tend to be sweet and are taken as snacks or desserts, while vegetables are less on fructose and tend to be served as part of the main dish or side dish. Under this classification, tomatoes can be considered vegetables, but so can many other botanical fruits such as green beans, pumpkins, cucumbers and eggplants. Credit: domdomegg/Wikimedia The Supreme Court of the United States got dragged into the controversary in 1893 when a Manhattan-based wholesaler named John Nix filed suit against Edward L. Hedden, Collector of the Port of New York, challenging tomato’s status. Ten years previously, the United States passed the Tariff Act of 1883, which tripled the tax on imported vegetables, but fruits were exempt from the tax. John Nix & Co., which was, at that time, the ...

There are different ways to classify or categorize plants and plant structures. We eat many plant parts including roots, stems, leaves, flowers, seeds, and fruit. The root is the edible portion of carrots, radishes, beets, and parsnips. Asparagus is an example of a stem that is consumed. Plants grown for their edible leaves include lettuce and spinach. The flower is the edible portion of broccoli and cauliflower. Corn is an example of a seed that is eaten. Edible fruits include melons, apples, pears, green beans, peppers, and many others. The term "fruit" has more than one definition. In common usage, a fruit is a plant part that is used chiefly in desserts.In contrast, a vegetable is defined as a plant part eaten with the principal part of the meal. That plant part could be a leaf, stem, root, seed, flower, or fruit. This makes snap beans, carrots, and spinach vegetables, while apples and cherries are fruit. By this definition, the tomato is a vegetable in that it is usually consumed during the main meal. Botanically, a fruit is defined as any plant part with seeds inside it that formed from a ripened ovary (or would have seeds inside of it if it were not a seedless variety). Therefore, apples, cucumbers, cherries, peppers, and watermelons are botanically defined as a fruit. By this definition, the edible tomato is a fruit since it developed from a flower and has seeds inside it. Therefore, the tomato is both a fruit and a vegetable, depending on which context (common usa...

Biologically speaking, tomatoes are fruits but why do we think of them as a vegetable? Let’s have fun with tomato trivia—plus my 10tips and tricks on growing tomatoessuccessfully! Last blog I asked you what Whenever I mention that tomatoes are fruits, I also get the response: No, tomatoes are vegetables? In a sense, a tomato is both a fruit and a vegetable but let’s explore this age-old question. Tomatoes asFruits Does a tomato have seeds? Of course, the answer is yes. If your edible garden crop has seeds, it’s fruit. Botanically, fruit is a ripened flower ovary and containsseeds. Wait … does that means that pumpkins are fruit? And zucchinis? And cucumbers? Yes, botanically speaking, they are allfruit. So, what’s a vegetable? Technically or botanically,if you just eat the stems or leaves or roots or flowers, that makes it avegetable. In other words, celery, lettuce, chard, beets, and broccoli arevegetables. Tomatoes asVegetables Nutritionists, grocery stores, and even the government classifies tomatoes as vegetables. Just as we consider eggplantand peppers vegetables from a nutritionalperspective. Specifically, in 1893, the United States Supreme Court ruled that since tomatoes are most often served during the main part of the meal, either alone or with vegetables that tomatoes must bevegetables. Fruit is used todescribe sweet and fleshyfruits (think plums, peaches, grapes) that tend to be high in fructose. Sweet fruits are typically snacks ordesserts. So, why do we get hun...

Table of contents Many of us can easily distinguish the differences between most fruit and vegetables but when it comes to the age-old question of, is a tomato a fruit or a vegetable, we are not really sure what to answer! Look no further, because the answer is, tomatoes are technically both! While fruits and vegetables both count as part of our The botanical classification: Tomatoes are fruits. A botanist would use the botanical classification, which is based on the plant’s physiological characteristics, like the structure, function and organisation of the plant. 1Therefore, botanically speaking, a ‘fruit’ is the seed-bearing product that grows from the ovary of a flowering plant or, in other words, a fruit is the plants’ way of spreading its’ seeds. 2A botanical fruit would have at least one seed and grow from the flower of the plant. 1With this definition in mind, tomatoes are classified as fruit because they contain seeds and grow from the flower of the tomato plant. A ‘vegetable’ in botanical terms on the other hand, does not have a set definition but is more of a general term encompassing all other edible aspects of the plant; the roots, stems and leaves. The Culinary Classification: Tomatoes are vegetables. A nutritionist, chef or even your grandma, would use the culinary classification system, that defines fruits and vegetables in a slightly different manner, basing it on the way the plants are used and their flavour profiles. 1Culinary speaking, a ‘vegetable’ usua...

Tomatoes are quite possibly one of the summer season’s most versatile produce offerings. They’re typically grouped alongside vegetables in the culinary world, but you may have also heard them referred to as fruits. This article explores whether tomatoes are fruits or vegetables and why they’re sometimes confused for one or the other. Nutritionally, fruits and vegetables get a lot of attention for being rich sources of vitamins, minerals and fiber ( Although they have a lot in common, fruits and vegetables also have some However, these differences will vary dramatically depending on whether you’re talking to a farmer or a chef. Botanical Classification Botanical classification of fruits and vegetables is primarily based on the structure and function of the part of the plant in question. Fruits are formed from flowers, have seeds and assist with the plant’s reproduction process. Some common fruits include apples, peaches, On the other hand, vegetables are the roots, stems, leaves or other auxiliary parts of the plant. Some well-known vegetables include spinach, lettuce, carrots, Culinary Classification When it comes to cooking, the classification system for fruits and vegetables changes significantly compared to how they’re categorized botanically. In culinary practice, fruits and vegetables are utilized and applied based primarily on their flavor profiles. Generally, a fruit has a soft texture and tends to err on the sweet side. It may also be somewhat tart or tangy. It’s b...

Justice Horace Grey summed up the argument succinctly: "Botanically speaking, tomatoes are the fruit of a vine, just as are cucumbers, squashes, beans, and peas," Grey wrote in the court's opinion. "But in the common language of the people … all these are vegetables which are grown in kitchen gardens, and which, whether eaten cooked or raw, are, like potatoes, carrots, parsnips, turnips, beets, cauliflower, cabbage, celery, and lettuce, usually served at dinner in, with, or after the soup, fish, or meats which constitute the principal part of the repast, and not, like fruits generally, as dessert." That idea was channeled more than 100 years later