2007-11-04 14:25:15 · 7 answers · asked by Babbage R 1 in Food & Drink ➔ Other - Food & Drink
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.
2007-11-04 14:29:29 · answer #1 · answered by D. Nelson Altamirano 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Botanically, a tomato is the ovary, together with its seeds, of a flowering plant: a fruit or, more precisely, a berry. However, the tomato is not as sweet as those foodstuffs usually called fruits and, from a culinary standpoint, it is typically served as part of a salad or main course of a meal, as are vegetables, rather than at dessert, as are fruits.
2007-11-04 22:52:55 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
A tomato is a fruit because anything with seeds is considered a fruit.
2007-11-04 22:28:31 · answer #3 · answered by kyleman1 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it's a fruit because everything with a seed is a fruit and no seed means it's a vegetable. so then how do they plant vegetables????
2007-11-04 22:57:35 · answer #4 · answered by slob_15 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Botanically speaking, it is a fruit, because it grows after a flower is fertilized by bees.
Nutritionally, it is a vegetable, becuase it is very low in fructose (fruit sugar).
2007-11-04 22:29:17 · answer #5 · answered by Sugar Pie 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
its a fruit because it has seeds
2007-11-04 22:29:13 · answer #6 · answered by volleyball grl 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
its a fruit..
alothough i still call it a vegtable..
its just sounds better as a vegtable when you want it in salad haha.
2007-11-04 22:51:17 · answer #7 · answered by lovin'87 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋