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Differences Between Fruits and Vegetables

Botanically, fruits develop from the ovary of flowering plants and contain seeds, while vegetables are other plant parts like roots, stems, and leaves. However, culinary definitions differ, with some botanical fruits like tomatoes considered vegetables by chefs if they are savory rather than sweet. This distinction caused legal issues, and in an 1893 case the US Supreme Court ruled tomatoes should be taxed as vegetables based on ordinary culinary definitions rather than botanical classifications.

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172 views

Differences Between Fruits and Vegetables

Botanically, fruits develop from the ovary of flowering plants and contain seeds, while vegetables are other plant parts like roots, stems, and leaves. However, culinary definitions differ, with some botanical fruits like tomatoes considered vegetables by chefs if they are savory rather than sweet. This distinction caused legal issues, and in an 1893 case the US Supreme Court ruled tomatoes should be taxed as vegetables based on ordinary culinary definitions rather than botanical classifications.

Uploaded by

JESSYLLN
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Differences between Fruits and Vegetables

A peach is a fruit, whoever you are, and a carrot is definitely a vegetable. But in
the Venn diagram relating these two produce categories, there's a sizeable
region of overlap. It results from the fact that "fruit" and "vegetable" are defined
differently depending on whether you're a gardener or a chef.
Dead center of the overlapping region sits the tomato. So, why is it a fruit, and
why is it a vegetable?
Botanically speaking, a fruit is a seed-bearing structure that develops from the
ovary of a flowering plant, whereas vegetables are all other plant parts, such as
roots, leaves and stems. By those standards, seedy outgrowths such as apples,
squash and, yes, tomatoes are all fruits, while roots such as beets, potatoes and
turnips, leaves such as spinach, kale and lettuce, and stems such as celery and
broccoli are all vegetables.
The outlook is quite different in culinary terms, however. A lot of foods that are
(botanically speaking) fruits, but which are savory rather than sweet, are typically
considered vegetables by chefs. This includes such botanical fruits as eggplants,
bell peppers and tomatoes.
The fruit vs. vegetable debate can sometimes reach such a fever pitch that the
law must step in. In the 1893 United States Supreme Court case Nix. v.
Hedden, the court rule unanimously that an imported tomato should be taxed as
a vegetable, rather than as a (less taxed) fruit. The court acknowledged that a
tomato is a botanical fruit, but went with what they called the "ordinary"
definitions of fruit and vegetable the ones used in the kitchen.

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