Is it a fruit or is it a vegetable?

Question

Is a tomato considered a fruit or a vegetable? Today I picked up a menu for a new local restaurant and they listed sun-dried tomato under meat! I say a tomato is a veggie? Any comments?

Answer 1

technically it is a fruit...fruits have seeds....

Answer 2

Vegetable is a CULINARY term not a scientific term. There is no absolute definition of vegetable. Vegetables can be from many scientific or botanical classifications like leaf (lettuce), roots (carrots), bulb (garlic), flower (broccoli, cauliflower) and fruits (cucumber).

Botanically speaking, a tomato is the ovary, together with its seeds, of a flowering plant, that is 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. As noted above, the term "vegetable" has no botanical meaning and is purely a culinary term.

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). Strictly speaking, the holding of the case applies only to the interpretation of the Tariff Act of March 3, 1883, and not much else. The court does not purport to reclassify tomato for botanical or for any other purpose other than paying a tax under a tariff act. However, the USDA also considers the tomato a vegetable.

In accordance with the botanical classification, the tomato has been proposed as the state fruit of New Jersey. Arkansas takes both sides by declaring the "South Arkansas Vine Ripe Pink Tomato" to be both the state fruit and the state vegetable in the same law, citing both its botanical and culinary classifications.

But due to the scientific definition of a fruit and a vegetable, the tomato still remains a fruit when not dealing with tariffs. Nor is it the only culinary vegetable that is a botanical fruit: eggplants, cucumbers, and squashes of all kinds (including zucchini and pumpkins) share the same ambiguity.

Answer 3

My sister explained this to e when I was younger and annoying her about the question," A tomato is a fruit. The difference between a fruit and a vegetable is that fruit has seeds on the inside and vegetables don't. Now be quite and let me do my math." he he she loves me..... Good luck with the whole meat thing.

Answer 4

Fruit

Answer 5

Tomatos are considered a fruit.

Answer 6

Tomato is absolutely a fruit. But, considering it a vegetable is okay.

Answer 7

As noted they're a fruit by definition. But the nutrients in tomatoes are more akin to the nutrients in other veggies, like Vitamin A, than fruits.
So, you can say it's a fruit on the vine, but a veggie on your plate!

Answer 8

Tomatoes are a fruit.

Answer 9

it is a fruit, but not because it has seeds.. bananas are a fruit and they do not have seeds... fruits come from flowers... if what you are eating comes from flowers than it is a fruit.. even beans are considered fruits.. veggies don't.. with veggies you eat different parts of the plant, be it the root, the leaves.. whatever.. veggies are not the product of flowers

Answer 10

They are considered a Fruit

Answer 11

it is classified as a fruit because the seeds are on the inside of the food. Just like apples, grapes, oranges, the seeds are on the inside so its a fruit