why is a tomatoe considered a fruit?

Answer 1

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 2

The tomato is Biologicly a fruit and Legally a vegetable.
We have to go back to 18th century America. A near riot broke out over the classification ofthe little fellow. The tomato was originally imported from Europe as a vegetable, which allowed for duty,taxes, to be collected against its import value. There was no such fee for fruit. Botanists of the day had classified the tomatoe due to its being a seed porducing pod which is grown on a vine, as are grapes and berries. This would have coust the customs offices large amounts of revenue. Customs argued that it was a vegetable, given the way that it was eaten with OTHER vegetables, and they were not sweet like fruit.
The case eventually reached the US Supreme Court. After hearing the case the court's decision gave the humble tomato the dual classification. In the intrests of science and academia the tomato is a fruit as found by its means of reproduction. And for the purposes of commerce and shipping the tomato was ctassified as a vegetable, allowing for the trade taxes to be collected.

Answer 3

A tomato results from a flower and contains seeds. That's why. Think about it.......a lot of the things we diatetically consider to be vegetables (because they're not sweet) are really fruits botanically speaking. The list includes the following......they all result from flowers and contain seeds

an ear of corn (but it's a little weird because it's really a grass) and the ear of corn only comes from the female flower while the male one is at the top of the plant
peas in the pod
green beans (the seeds are inside the pod)
tomatoes
watermelon
and yes, cucumbers are really fruits too. They come from a flower and contain seeds

and the strawberry, believe it or not, is really a vegetable! The little dinky seeds ON the strawberry are really tiny fruits with a tiny seed inside. The berry part itself isn't really a berry botanically, but it is part of the mother plant, so it's botanically a vegetable. The "flower" it comes from is not a flower, it's an inflorescence - a bunch of miniature flowers combined to look like one flower which results in all of the little fruits pasted to the outside of the strawberry.

Answer 4

I was always taught it is a vegetable, but that the government wanted a higher tax on importing the tomato, that they declared a fruit. I would research a web page that deals with a Nutritionist expert and fruits and vegs.

Answer 5

the cucumber/pickle thing is wrong, a tomato is a fruit, seeds inside protected in a fleshy membrane it was first called a vegetable so the us government could call ketchup a vegetable in school lunches, it used to be a law, kinda strange.

Answer 6

I think it is this way. A raw tomato is a fruit and a cooked tomato is a vegetable. The same goes for cucumbers.....aka pickles. Not sure who came up with the idea.

Answer 7

It's not because it's a thorny issue...but it does have seeds. Hence the fruity part of its being is manifest

Answer 8

it has seeds, so some people say. but my question is, is a cucumber a fruit b/c it has seeds

Answer 9

because it can be eaten raw. just like a carrot, it's also known as a fruit at times as it can be eaten raw.

Answer 10

b/c they have seeds. the comment about cucumber/pickles is wrong.