Why is a watermelon considered a vegetable?

Question

I was reading a trivia question on the back of an oatmeal package this morning and it read, "What widely popular food eaten on the fourth of July is actually a vegetable?" And the answer is Watermelon??? How is this possible? Thanks.

Answer 1

It a member of the cucumber family.

Answer 2

According to Webster’s dictionary a vegetable is anything made or obtained from plants (2004). Watermelon is a member of the cucurbitaceae plant family of gourds (classified as Citrullus Lantus), related to the cucumber, squash, and pumpkin (Maynard, 2001). It is planted from seeds or seedlings, harvested, and then cleared from the field like other vegetables. Since watermelon is grown as a vegetable crop using vegetable production systems, watermelon is considered a vegetable (Wolford, 2004). Its considered a fruit AND a vegetable. The article explains everything.

Answer 3

I went and did some research on this one, because it stumped me - cucumbers are fruits too, guys, because of the seeds.

Here's what I found in Wikipedia:
Vegetable is a culinary term which generally refers to an edible part of a plant. The definition is traditional rather than scientific and is somewhat arbitrary and subjective. Traditionally, Vegetable can also be used to designate the entire Plant Kingdom.

and

Since “vegetable” is not a botanical term, there is no contradiction in referring to a plant part as a fruit while also being considered a vegetable (see diagram). Given this general rule of thumb, vegetables can also include leaves (lettuce), stems (asparagus), roots (carrots), flowers (broccoli), bulbs (garlic), seeds (peas and beans) and botanical fruits such as cucumbers, squash, pumpkins, and capsicums (bell peppers). Botanically, fruits are reproductive organs (ripened ovaries containing one or many seeds), while vegetables are vegetative organs which sustain the plant.

SO

Basically it means that botanically the watermelon IS a fruit, but in culinary terms can be fairly called a vegetable. But I think only someone who thinks they're being funny and trying to confuse people would do this.

I ran across something like this with a dietician regarding tomatoes, that scientifically tomatoes are a fruit but nutritionally they're a vegetable because of their low sugar content. So like the watermelon it depends on which terms you are speaking in.

Frankly I don't find that amusing.

Answer 4

It's a vegetable becuase it's a member of the cucumber family as others have said.

MikeL (FYI) Everything in the produce department are NOT called vegetables. There are fruits and there are vegetables. And watermelon is NOT a fruit. It is, in fact, as others have attested to, a vegetable. Yes a tomato is a fruit, but it is nothing at all like a watermelon.

Answer 5

Everything in the produce section are called vegetables (well most) (herbs?)
it still is a fruit like a tomato
Use the dictionary.

Answer 6

that makes no sense, if it has seeds, its a fruit, like tomatoes, cucumbers, and eve peppers. (i read that at school in health class) maybe the box was a misprint.

Answer 7

well to my knowledge it is considered a vegetable because of its seeds and its considered apart of the cucumber family

Answer 8

maybe it's because they grow in the ground, not on a vine or on a tree?