an age old question?

Question

this question has been around for a while. is a tomato a fruit vegatable or both? is it even possible for it to be both?? im hoping to get a lot of responses from this. this question has been bothering me for ever.

Answer 1

It's a fruit. Period.

Answer 2

Fruit

Answer 3

Vegetable!

Tomato

Definition: [tuh-MAY-toh; tuh-MAH-toh] Like the potato and eggplant, the tomato is a member of the nightshade family. It's the fruit of a vine native to South America.

By the time Europeans arrived in the New World, the tomato had made its way to Central America and Mexico. The Spanish carried plants back from Mexico, but it took time for tomatoes to be accepted in Spain because it was thought that they were poisonous. Some advocates, however, claimed the fruit had aphrodisiac powers and, in fact, the French called them pommes d'amour, "love apples."

It wasn't until the 1900s that the tomato gained popularity in the U.S. Today this fruit is one of America's favorite "vegetables," a classification the government gave the tomato in 1893. Among today's most commonly marketed varieties is the beefsteak tomato, delicious raw and cooked. It's large, bright red and slightly elliptical in shape.

Globe tomatoes are medium-sized, firm and juicy. They're good both raw and cooked.

The plum tomato (also called Italian plum) is flavorful and egg-shaped and comes in red and yellow versions.

The medium-sized green tomato has a piquant flavor, which makes it excellent for frying, broiling and adding to relishes.

The small cherry tomato is about 1 inch in diameter and can be red or yellow-gold in color. It's popular because of its bright color and excellent flavor.

The yellow cherry tomato is slightly less acidic than the red and therefore somewhat blander in flavor.

The yellow pear tomato is slightly smaller than the cherry tomato and resembles a tiny pear.

Currant tomatoes measure only about 0.7 inches in diameter and weigh about 1/8 ounce. They come in red and yellow varieties and have a sweet, crisp flesh.

There are several unique-looking and flavorful heirloom tomato varieties. Among the more interesting are the purple tomatoes (such as Pruden's Purpleand Cherokee Purple), the skins of which can range in color from a dusky pink with purple shoulders to a vivid dark pink. Striped tomatoes (such as striped German) have an orangey skin with faint red striations.

Tomatoes are rich in vitamin C and contain appreciable amounts of vitamins A and B, potassium, iron and phosphorus. A medium tomato has about as much fiber as a slice of whole-wheat bread and only about 35 calories.

Answer 4

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 not as sweet as those foodstuffs usually called fruits, and it is typically served as part of a main course of a meal, as are other vegetables, rather than at dessert.

Answer 5

Fruit is the scientific term for the part of the plant that houses the seeds. So a tomato is a fruit.
When talking food, many vegetables are actually the fruit of the plant they grow on.
There isn't a scientific definition for what a vegetable is, but all plants are considered vegetation.

Answer 6

A tomato is a fruit because the seeds are located inside. This is the similar characteristic with all fruits.

Answer 7

A Tomato is actually a fruit.

Answer 8

Technically a tomato is considered a fruit because it has seeds. If you think about all the things we know as fruits, they all have seeds. Therefore, a cucumber is also a fruit!

Answer 9

Be bothered no more.. Behold the Tomato, found in the fruit section at your local grocery

Answer 10

A tomato is a fruit.

Answer 11

tomatos are a fruit. Fruits are grown above ground while vegetables are grown below it. Also, vegetables dont have seeds, which make tomatoes a fruit.