Is the tomato a fruit or vegetable

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Originally Posted by oddler

Have seeds? Is fruit.

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It doesn't mean that all that have seeds are fruit, you know. Squash has seeds, and it's a vegetable.
Tomato is a fruit.

It is a fruit...

However legally for trade and tax purposes it is classified as a vegetable.


So both. :D

I call it a vegetable because at Subway, it's in the vegetable area. :)

:mad2: <-- A tomato is an angry face.

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It doesn't mean that all that have seeds are fruit, you know. Squash has seeds, and it's a vegetable.
Tomato is a fruit.

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Actually, if you want to get technical, squash are also fruit. A fruit is, by definition, the ovary of an angiosperm, or more simply, the part of the plant that contains the seeds. :D

Animal :o

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Originally Posted by Arrianna

It is a fruit...

However legally for trade and tax purposes it is classified as a vegetable.


So both. :D

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Winner! It is both. Although not just for trade/tax reasons. The word 'vegetable' can refer to pretty much any edible plant, including all fruits if you really, really wanted it to. But not many people use it in that way. It's up to the user. The word 'vegetable' has no scientific purpose so it's not very easy to say what is and is not a vegetable. Meanwhile, the word fruit does have a scientific definition, being a ripened ovary of a flowering plant.

So technically (and not just because of tax and trade) the tomato really is both a fruit and a vegetable.

It's a fruit. =D

It's neither.

to·ma·to Audio pronunciation of "tomato" ( P ) Pronunciation Key (t-mt, -mä-)
n. pl. to·ma·toes

1.
1. A widely cultivated South American plant (Lycopersicon esculentum) having edible, fleshy, usually red fruit.
2. The fruit of this plant.
2. Slang. A woman regarded as attractive.

I don't think I've ever heard it being used for an attractive woman. But I never know what's popular these days.

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Originally Posted by DarkLadyNyara

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It doesn't mean that all that have seeds are fruit, you know. Squash has seeds, and it's a vegetable.
Tomato is a fruit.

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Actually, if you want to get technical, squash are also fruit. A fruit is, by definition, the ovary of an angiosperm, or more simply, the part of the plant that contains the seeds. :D

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Yes; in the scientific community, it is considered a fruit. A lot of "vegtables" are. They yeild the nutritional value of a vegtable though, and they do not produce a sweetened flavor, therefoe, they are traditionally known as vegtables. Simply put: Chefs will call them a vegie due to taste and nutrients, a scientist will call them a fruit due to their cosmic implimentations :)

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Originally Posted by bipper

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Originally Posted by DarkLadyNyara

Quote:

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It doesn't mean that all that have seeds are fruit, you know. Squash has seeds, and it's a vegetable.
Tomato is a fruit.

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Actually, if you want to get technical, squash are also fruit. A fruit is, by definition, the ovary of an angiosperm, or more simply, the part of the plant that contains the seeds. :D

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Yes; in the scientific community, it is considered a fruit. A lot of "vegtables" are. They yeild the nutritional value of a vegtable though, and they do not produce a sweetened flavor, therefoe, they are traditionally known as vegtables. Simply put: Chefs will call them a vegie due to taste and nutrients, a scientist will call them a fruit due to their cosmic implimentations :)

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Also, scientists won't call them vegetables because vegetable is not a scientific term. :)

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Originally Posted by Loony BoB

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Originally Posted by bipper

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Originally Posted by DarkLadyNyara

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It doesn't mean that all that have seeds are fruit, you know. Squash has seeds, and it's a vegetable.
Tomato is a fruit.

---

Actually, if you want to get technical, squash are also fruit. A fruit is, by definition, the ovary of an angiosperm, or more simply, the part of the plant that contains the seeds. :D

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Yes; in the scientific community, it is considered a fruit. A lot of "vegtables" are. They yeild the nutritional value of a vegtable though, and they do not produce a sweetened flavor, therefoe, they are traditionally known as vegtables. Simply put: Chefs will call them a vegie due to taste and nutrients, a scientist will call them a fruit due to their cosmic implimentations :)

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Also, scientists won't call them vegetables because vegetable is not a scientific term. :)

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I am fairly sure that vegtable is a scientific term in agriculture . :confused:

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Originally Posted by bipper

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Originally Posted by Loony BoB

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Originally Posted by bipper

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Originally Posted by DarkLadyNyara

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It doesn't mean that all that have seeds are fruit, you know. Squash has seeds, and it's a vegetable.
Tomato is a fruit.

---

Actually, if you want to get technical, squash are also fruit. A fruit is, by definition, the ovary of an angiosperm, or more simply, the part of the plant that contains the seeds. :D

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Yes; in the scientific community, it is considered a fruit. A lot of "vegtables" are. They yeild the nutritional value of a vegtable though, and they do not produce a sweetened flavor, therefoe, they are traditionally known as vegtables. Simply put: Chefs will call them a vegie due to taste and nutrients, a scientist will call them a fruit due to their cosmic implimentations :)

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Also, scientists won't call them vegetables because vegetable is not a scientific term. :)

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I am fairly sure that vegtable is a scientific term in agriculture . :confused:

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Originally Posted by Wikipedia

Vegetable is a culinary term. Its definition has no scientific value, and is somewhat arbitrary and subjective. Any part of an herbaceous plant that humans eat whole or in part is a vegetable, except for culinary fruits and arguably grains, nuts, herbs, and spices. Also, mushrooms are commonly considered vegetables, despite belonging to a different biological kingdom, namely fungi (which used to be classified as plants).

Vegetables include leaf vegetables (for example lettuce), stem vegetables (asparagus), root vegetables (carrot), flower vegetables (broccoli), bulbs (garlic) and botanical fruits such as cucumbers, squashes, pumpkins, avocados, capsicums, as well as botanical pulses such as green beans, and fleshy, immature seeds such as those of peas or beans.

Since "vegetable" is not a botanical term, there is no contradiction in a plant part being a fruit botanically while still being considered a vegetable (see diagram). See Nix v. Hedden for a United States Supreme Court's ruling on the matter.

In general, vegetables are thought of as being savoury, and not sweet (with some exceptions, such as rhubarb and pumpkin).

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A tomato is neither, its ketchup.