Ever wonder why a fruit is a fruit? or the age old question, is a tomato a fruit or a vegetable?

Look at our fun fact below to find out.

No Food straddles the line between fruits and vegetables more famous than the TOMATO. The answer is, it’s both!
Botanically, a fruit is the ovary of a flower. It contains seeds; therefore, the tomato is technically classified as fruit. However, in culinary world, tomatoes are classed as a vegetable as they are used in savory rather than sweet cooking.

So go ahead and call tomato whatever you want. It is super tasty either way and rich in antioxidant Lycopene. This antioxidant helps us maintain a healthy immune system.

Kidos, let see how we can find out what is a fruit and a vegetable.

Fruits are classified depending on which part of the plant they come from. Fruit develops from the flower of a plant.

If we talk about Vegetables, technically there is no part of a plant that is considered a vegetable. Like we call a pepper, a cucumber, eggplant or other seed-bearing parts of the plant are fruits. While things like carrots and potatoes are roots and lettuce and kale are leaves. A vegetable is purely a culinary word and generally is used to describe more savory parts of plants used in cooking. So yes, while tomatoes and peppers and squash are technically fruits, in cooking they are considered vegetable just as lettuce and carrots are.

Crazy Right?

First you need to ask yourself this question… ”Does it have seeds?” If the answer is yes, botanically – and technically – you have yourself a fruit. Seeds are typically thought of as small, but this isn’t the case all of the time. You know the pit of an avocado? Well that pit is a seed, making an avocado a fruit. Same goes for olives. To summarize, a fruit is part of the plant or tree that we eat, which develops from a flower and contains seeds. Vegetables on the other hand are either the leaf, root, stem or flower bud from a plant or tree, and do not contain seeds. Vegetables are more obvious to pick out, and include things like Broccoli, Cauliflower, Celery, Carrots, etc…

For a fun fact of the day, or to solidify your knowledge when discussing fruits and vegetables, I wanted to share the below lists with you all as I find them quite interesting.