What makes the tomato a legally a vegitable?

Question

There is a specific answer that I'm looking for and the person that get's it get's the 10 points. The first time I asked the question no body got it. There are a few clues out there though. Botanically it is a fruit none the less, but that's not the answer I'm looking for.

Answer 1

US tariff laws in 1887 that imposed a duty on vegetables caused the status of the tomato to become important. The Supreme Court's 1893 decision in the Nix v. Hedden case declared the tomato a vegetable based on the definition which classifies vegetables by use

Answer 2

Botanically speaking, a tomato is the ovary, together with its seeds, of a flowering plant, i.e. a fruit or, more precisely, a berry. However, from a culinary perspective the tomato is typically served as a meal, or part of a main course of a meal, meaning that it would be (and is) considered a vegetable.

This argument has led to actual legal implications in the United States, Australia and China. In 1887, U.S. tariff laws that imposed a duty on vegetables but not on fruits caused the tomato's status to become a matter of legal importance. The U.S. Supreme Court settled this controversy in 1893, declaring that the tomato is a vegetable, using the popular definition which classifies vegetable by use, that they are generally served with dinner and not dessert. The case is known as Nix v. Hedden (149 U.S. 304). While the Tomato can be classified as a fruit, it is officially categorized as a definite vegetable in the United States.

The USDA also considers the tomato a vegetable.

Answer 3

The confusion about 'fruit' and 'vegetable' arises because of the differences in usage between scientists and cooks. 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). Blueberries, raspberries, and oranges are true fruits, and so are many kinds of nut. Some plants have a soft part which supports the seeds and is also called a 'fruit', though it is not developed from the ovary: the strawberry is an example. As far as cooking is concerned, some things which are strictly fruits may be called 'vegetables' because they are used in savoury rather than sweet cooking. The tomato, though technically a fruit, is often used as a vegetable, and a bean pod is also technically a fruit. The term 'vegetable' is more generally used of other edible parts of plants, such as cabbage leaves, celery stalks, and potato tubers, which are not strictly the fruit of the plant from which they come. Occasionally the term 'fruit' may be used to refer to a part of a plant which is not a fruit, but which is used in sweet cooking: rhubarb, for example. So a tomato is the fruit of the tomato plant, but can be used as a vegetable in cooking.

Answer 4

The Supreme Court handed down a decision on the status of fruits and vegetables. If it ususally eaten with dinner it is a vegetable if it ususally eaten before it is fruit. Goofy I know but a fact.

Answer 5

We treat the tomato as a vegetable i.e. the tomato is used to make soups, sliced for hamburgers, salsa , etc. etc.
The World Book Dictionary says that tomato is a vegetable.

Answer 6

Ronald Regan (well, one of the departments underneath him) declared it a vegetable in the 1980's which caused people to die of laughter just thinking of kids eating ketchup for their vegetable serving.

Answer 7

a tomato is a fruit, but i guess because it had vitamin c in it, you could call it a vegetable. maybe also the seeds inside it.

Answer 8

It is a fruit.

The US government legally made it a vegetable in order to be able to tax it.

Answer 9

Bc it has seeds in it, making it a fruit.

Answer 10

it is a fruit, seeds are on the inside, that makes it a fruit.