Fruit OR Vegetable??

Question

To which category does the tomato belongs to??

and why??????

Answer 1

Although it looks and tastes like a vegetable, a tomato is actually a fruit.

Take a look:

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 2

Fruit

Answer 3

Both!!! Vegetable is not a botanical term. It's a subjective culinary term that depends on the person and how he or she eats the tomato. I suggest not thinking of something as "vegetable or fruit" because you're mixing up two types of definitions.

Other examples to help you understand what I'm getting at:

spinach - leaf and vegetable
asparagus - stem and vegetable
carrot - root and vegetable

Answer 4

A tomato is considered a fruit because of the fact that it has seeds.

Answer 5

Fruit. The difference is fruits either ARE or contain seeds. Vegetables are other parts of a plant such as leaves or roots, etc.
I was interested in finding this tid bit out.

Answer 6

The fruit category because the seeds are on the inside of it.

Answer 7

Tomato is actually a fruit.

Answer 8

..either of the two since tomatoe can a fruit when eaten as it is , and a vegetable when eaten with some "stuff"

Answer 9

It is a fruit but I have no idea why. Maybe becuase it grows on a plant type thing or becuase it has seads.

Answer 10

fruit