why do non-europeans classify a tomato as a fruit rather than a vegetable when it clearly it is not...?

Question

ITS A GOD DAMN VEGETABLE MAN FFS!

Answer 1

That throws many other "veggies" into question. What about the cucumber, the zucchini, the bell pepper?

Answer 2

This is really interesting and just about all the answers are both right and wrong. Technically, and going far back to ancient times, tomatoes were considered a fruit and found only on the higher elevations of the surounding mountains to Egypt, which was hardly fertile considering it was mostly occupied desert land near rivers. Only the Pharoahs and kings could afford to send servants to gather this "fruit" during that era which made tomatoes only available to the highest in power. Then too was developed the expression "fit for a king" as it definitely was a fruit only a king could acquire. Some rulers even ruled that no one but the ruler was allowed to nourish on this delectible delicacy. Then, centuries later in Europe, tomatoes were found to be a poisonous vegetable as many people drinking tomato juice and eating tomato from a plate were dying. Tomatoes then became outlawed as either a fruit or as a vegetable. Later in time people came to realize that Europeans were drinking from pewter tankards (mugs) and eating from pewter plates. Tomatoes are very high in acid and this acid was attacking the pewter and creating a poison in the mugs and dishes people were using. When this was discovered tomatoes again entered the marketplace for consumption as a vegetable. With or without pewter, tomatoes still can be very poisoness and can even bring death to the consumer if the storage / preserving process is improper or has exceeded it's potential storage safe-span. Why a fruit...? Because tomatoes have an unusually large amount of acid quite similar to citrus fruits and in ancient times with lesser knowledge than modern man, acidic round berry shaped products growing above the ground were considered as fruits. As for those presenting the berry theory...forget it...squash, peppers and cucumbers are vegetables with seeds. Are tomatoes sweet...? Yes, but only a rare few varieties grown in the eastern world and too delicate to ship to foreign countries because their shelf life is too short.

Answer 3

That's easy.

Because biologically a tomato isn't a vegetable. It's a fruit.

Actually, if you want to get right down to it, tomatoes are a type of berry. While their flavors make them better suited toward savory applications (though those ever so crafty French have come up with some pretty ripping tomato desserts), tomatoes pretty well behave like a berry in every other way from how they grow to how they cook to how they should be stored and preserved... except very notably, you can't freeze them with any great success.

Answer 4

You take your vegetables pretty seriously don't you.
A long time ago, it was either/or but I would guess most people would classify it as a fruit. That being said, I don't think the future of civilization depends on whether tomatoes are a fruit or a vegetable.

Answer 5

The Oxford Dictionary defines what a fruit is, which is important to know before defining if a tomato is one.

They say, "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 (though cultivated forms may be seedless)."

Answer 6

A tomato actually is a fruit. Anything that grows on a vine is a fruit, like grapes, even pumpkin is a fruit . Anything that grows on a tree is also a fruit, even an avocado. If it grows in the ground then it is a vegetable.

Answer 7

From a scientific classification point of view, fruit has seeds and vegetables do not.

Tomato has seeds - simple.
This also throws the pumpkin into doubt!

I always think of a tomato as a vege, but it makes you wonder then, how do you define fruit and veg? I guess most people have better things to wonder about, but still...

Answer 8

vegetable is a rather broad classification, a turnip is a vegetable, a carrot is a vegetable. Vegetables must be boiled, mashed or strained to eat. I do not like vegetables. I like tomatoes. therefore tomatoes are not vegetables. What I do not understand is why tomato jam is called ketch up

Answer 9

It's technically a fruit but used as a vegetable.

Answer 10

Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is knowing not to put it in fruit salad.

Tomato is a fruit because it has seeds.
(Maybe the rest of the world is smarter ??)

Answer 11

Tomatoes are classified as fruit.