Is a tomato a fruit or a vegetable?
I always considered a tomato being a vegetable. But what is it really?
Scientifically speaking, a tomato is definitely a fruit. True fruits are developed from the ovary in the base of the flower, and contain the seeds of the plant. This fact (seeds) also makes cucumbers, squash, peppers, eggplants, corn kernels, pea pods, green beans and pumpkins fruits as well. As far as cooking is concerned, some things which are strictly fruits, such as tomatoes or bean pods, may be called ‘vegetables’ because they are used in savoury rather than sweet cooking.
A vegetable, botanically, is any edible part of a plant that doesn’t happen to be a fruit, as in leaves (spinach, lettuce, cabbage), roots (carrots, beets, turnips), stems (asparagus), tubers (potatoes), bulbs (onions), and flowers (cauliflower and broccoli). Read this interesting article about fruits and vegetables.
Wow! I always thought that the tomato is a vegetable! Thank you!
By the way, a tomato is the official “vegetable” of New Jersey and the official fruit (and vegetable) of Arkansas.
