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Scrumpyjackk Posted 20 years ago
Vocabulary
Fruit or veg
I am a little confused about the exactness of the definitions of what a fruit is and what a vegetable is.
A fruit is: "the usually sweet part of a tree or bush which holds seeds and can be eaten"
A vegetable is: "a plant, root, seed, or pod that is used as food, particularly savoury dishes"
So why is a tomato a fruit and a pepper a vegetable?
Any help would be appreciated.
Jack
A fruit is: "the usually sweet part of a tree or bush which holds seeds and can be eaten"
A vegetable is: "a plant, root, seed, or pod that is used as food, particularly savoury dishes"
So why is a tomato a fruit and a pepper a vegetable?
Any help would be appreciated.
Jack
Top answer
A tomato is sweet and it holds seeds. A pepper is savoury.
- A tomato is sweet and it holds seeds.
- A pepper is savoury.
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23 Answers
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A botanist would say that a tomato and a pepper are the fruit of the tomato and pepper plant, because they contain the seeds. However, a cook would probably say they are both vegetables, because of the way they are prepared and served. The categories are not really mutually exclusive.
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Categories concerning food differ sometimes...
I was told once not to argue with a native English speaker about whether "cauliflower" is (a) cabbage or not...
For a German speaker it is, while for an English speaker it's not... As I said: It's no good argueing about that any deeper...
I was told once not to argue with a native English speaker about whether "cauliflower" is (a) cabbage or not...
For a German speaker it is, while for an English speaker it's not... As I said: It's no good argueing about that any deeper...
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It's better not to mention Brassicaceae on this forum. They have been the cause of many a long grim thread.
MrP
MrP
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Tomato is generally considered as a veg. among Chinese, but my American friends insist it is a fruit.
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If you eat it in your meal, or cook it, then it's veg
If you eat it as a fruit, it's called fruit.
If you eat it as a fruit, it's called fruit.
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And also you can find tomato juice in the fruit juice list! Though it doesn't seem a fruit to me, but apparently it is to many English speakers.
If I wanna translate the Persian word for cauliflower, it'll be cabbage-flower, so it is a kind of cabbage in my country as well, Pemmican.
If I wanna translate the Persian word for cauliflower, it'll be cabbage-flower, so it is a kind of cabbage in my country as well, Pemmican.
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Thanks for the help. I managed to confuse my school with this one and now I see why, there is no clear answer. It seems to be pretty arbitrary. I guess there's a grey area in the middle where you can put them where you want. Although officially a tomato is a fruit where I come from (Britain) I prefer to think of it as a vegetable. I think if it's in a grey area then look at how it's prepared and e
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The answer to this question depends on whether you are a botanist or a cook.
To a botanist a fruit is the ripened ovary of a plant. This would include all sorts of things that you will not find on a supermarket shelf, whether under "vegetables" or "fruit".
To a cook - well we all know what the difference is between fruit and vegetables until we ask the question. Even a botanist
To a botanist a fruit is the ripened ovary of a plant. This would include all sorts of things that you will not find on a supermarket shelf, whether under "vegetables" or "fruit".
To a cook - well we all know what the difference is between fruit and vegetables until we ask the question. Even a botanist
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