Should a tomato be considered a vegetable or a fruit?

Replies

• 

  shalini_goel14

  Biologically its a fruit but we count it in list of vegetables in layman's language.😉
  
  I think it should be considered as fruit only because it is biologically correct.
• 

  Kaustubh Katdare

  raj87verma88

  This is a fun debate topic and has no purpose to hurt anyone. The author of this thread apologizes if anyone's feelings are hurt.

  Tomatoes won't hurt unless you throw them at someone. Anyway. I believe tomatoes must be grouped under 'vegetables'. My reasoning is simple.
  
  1. Proof #1: Till now, I have never seen a fruit-seller selling tomatoes. But yes, my local vegetable dealer does sell tomatoes.
  
  2. Proof #2: I always found tomatoes kept in the 'vegetables' section at big grocery shops.
  
  
  
  
  Debate is over, I guess.
• 

  Neha

  My vote goes for 'tomato as a vegetable.'
• 

  silverscorpion

  ha ha, it seems I'm an expert in botany too. Wat to do!!
  So, in my opinion, the answer goes like this.
  
  The confusion about 'fruit' and 'vegetable' arises because of the differences in usage between scientists and cooks. Scientifically speaking, a tomato is definitely a fruit. True fruits are developed from the ovary in the base of the flower, and contain the seeds of the plant (though cultivated forms may be seedless). Blueberries, raspberries, and oranges are true fruits, and so are many kinds of nut. Some plants have a soft part which supports the seeds and is also called a 'fruit', though it is not developed from the ovary: the strawberry is an example. As far as cooking is concerned, some things which are strictly fruits may be called 'vegetables' because they are used in savoury rather than sweet cooking. The tomato, though technically a fruit, is often used as a vegetable, and a bean pod is also technically a fruit. The term 'vegetable' is more generally used of other edible parts of plants, such as cabbage leaves, celery stalks, and potato tubers, which are not strictly the fruit of the plant from which they come. Occasionally the term 'fruit' may be used to refer to a part of a plant which is not a fruit, but which is used in sweet cooking: rhubarb, for example. So a tomato is the fruit of the tomato plant, but can be used as a vegetable in cooking.
  
  PS #-Link-Snipped-#
• 

  gohm

  There is no debate, it is a fruit. Just like peanuts are tubers, not nuts.
• 

  tuxpladul

  This is an interesting discussion. thank you for sharing
  Good post. I appreciate it
  Would a new one like me be welcome here?
  😁😁😁
  ______________________________
  #-Link-Snipped-##-Link-Snipped-##-Link-Snipped-#
• 

  Kaustubh Katdare

  @tux - lots of links in your signature, huh?
• 

  Pranav Kathale

  Oh yes, Tomato is a vegetable. No doubt. 😀
  Complete Vegetable 😛
• 

  durga ch

  Its a Fruit.
• 

  Manish Goyal

  To really figure out if a tomato is a fruit or vegetable, you need to know what makes a fruit a fruit, and a vegetable a vegetable. The big question to ask is, DOES IT HAVE SEEDS? If the answer is yes, then technically, (botanically) you have a FRUIT. This, of course, makes your tomato a fruit. It also makes cucumbers, squash, green beans and walnuts all fruits as well. Along with the fruit from from a plant or tree, we can often eat the leaves (lettuce,) stems (celery,) roots (carrots,) and flowers (broccoli.) Many of these other parts of the plant are typically referred to as VEGETABLES. Now don't go looking for tomatoes next to the oranges in your grocery stores; fruits like tomatoes and green beans are usually (alas, incorrectly) referred to as "vegetables" in most grocery stores and cookbooks.
• 

  vik001ind

  silverscorpion

  ha ha, it seems I'm an expert in botany too. Wat to do!!
  So, in my opinion, the answer goes like this.
  
  The confusion about 'fruit' and 'vegetable' arises because of the differences in usage between scientists and cooks. Scientifically speaking, a tomato is definitely a fruit. True fruits are developed from the ovary in the base of the flower, and contain the seeds of the plant (though cultivated forms may be seedless). Blueberries, raspberries, and oranges are true fruits, and so are many kinds of nut. Some plants have a soft part which supports the seeds and is also called a 'fruit', though it is not developed from the ovary: the strawberry is an example. As far as cooking is concerned, some things which are strictly fruits may be called 'vegetables' because they are used in savoury rather than sweet cooking. The tomato, though technically a fruit, is often used as a vegetable, and a bean pod is also technically a fruit. The term 'vegetable' is more generally used of other edible parts of plants, such as cabbage leaves, celery stalks, and potato tubers, which are not strictly the fruit of the plant from which they come. Occasionally the term 'fruit' may be used to refer to a part of a plant which is not a fruit, but which is used in sweet cooking: rhubarb, for example. So a tomato is the fruit of the tomato plant, but can be used as a vegetable in cooking.
  
  PS #-Link-Snipped-#

  It looks like thesis paper on the topic. After reading it, I completely agree
  with the point.
• 

  gaurav.bhorkar

  Yes Its definitely a fruit.