are tomatoes really fruits?

Question

if they are, then how are they fruits? is there like a specific classification or what?
[im confused]

Answer 1

I found this posted on a site that might clear up the confusion:

"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

Fruit or vegetable?

Tomato fruitBotanically 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.

The tomato has been designated the state vegetable 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. In 2006, the Ohio House of Representatives passed a law that would have declared the tomato to be the official state fruit, but the bill died when the Ohio Senate failed to act on it.

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

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

There is a lot of controversy, some people say its a fruit some say not. The seeds are inside the plant which technically makes it a fruit but we dont eat it as a fruit.
There was a law in 1893 to make tomatoe a vegetable only because for tariff laws, but its still a fruit.
Eggplants, cucumbers, pumpkins share the same problem Botanical fruits.

Answer 5

They have seeds, that makes them a fruit. More specifically they are of the berry family.

*************

What you choose it to be and what it really is may be two different things, but a tomato is a fruit. Some people have a hard time understanding this, hence the thumbs down on the the correct answers. But a fact is a fact, a tomato is a fruit.

Answer 6

They are fruits because they form from a polinated flower and have seeds, which is the definition of a fruit. In cooking, they are considered a vegetable. So truly they are BOTH a fruit and a vegetable.

A pineapple however, is not a fruit according to science, but is a fruit in cooking.

Sweetness has nothing to do with the definition of a fruit in science, but is one of the bases for the culinary definition.

Answer 7

No, they're not fruits. They are in the nightshade family. All nightshades are vegetables. Someone decided that they should be called fruits, who and when, I do not know. I assure you, I am 100% positive that they are vegetables.

Peppers (as in bell) grow in the same fashion as tomatoes, and are nightshades. No one calls a green pepper a fruit.

Shayna: How do vegetables "regrow"? You say that a fruit has seeds to regrow, and that is what classifies it as a fruit. How would vegetables proliferate without seeds?

Bobbi M: Yes, an avocado is a fruit.

Emmy: I am a gardener and I've NEVER heard of a tomato tree? Can you point me in the direction of a picture of a tomato tree?

Answer 8

Yes. Fruits contain a plant's seeds. If you are looking at the part of a plant that contains the seeds, you are looking at a fruit.

Answer 9

No. I refuse to believe that a tomato is a fruit! To me, fruits are either sweet or sour. Veggies have a duller taste... not so prominent as a fruit. Tomatoes are veggies! I don't care what any genus/species expert says!

Answer 10

Yes tomatos are a fruit because they grow on a tree...veges come out of the ground and fruits grow on trees...i think...
...i'm confused about the whole seed thing i mean pumpkins have seeds and they are a vegetable whereas bannanas don't have seeds and they are a fruit...what the???...