What’s the difference between a fruit and a vegetable?
You probably have heard that a tomato is really a fruit and not a vegetable. Tomatoes are fruits. How do you tell the difference? Just as all beef is not steak, all plant parts are not the same.
It seems that we classify our produce depending upon how we find them: on the plant or on our plates.
Cultural culinary habits tend to distinguish between fruits and vegetables by taste. Fruits are either sweet or sour. Vegetables come in a variety of savory flavors.
A botanist doesn’t view such distinctions. She looks for a seed. If the portion of the plant you consume has a seed (or would have one if it wasn’t hybridized), then the plant part in question is a fruit. Therefore, cucumbers, zucchini, eggplant, avocados, winter squash, beans, and peas are fruits.
If the produce is another part of the plant that does not contain a seed, it is a vegetable. A vegetable may be the leaf, stem, root, or flower of the plant. For example, a carrot is the root of the plant. Spinach is a plant’s leaf. Celery is the stem (stalk) of the plant.
Even with that debate over, there’s no question that more fruits and vegetables in your daily diet is good for you.