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6y ago

There are a lot of thoughts as to whether a tomato is a fruit or a vegetable . . .

It can be both

The part of a tomato plant we eat is botanically a fruit.

However the government (for tax purposes) has declared it legally to be a vegetable.

A tomato is a fruit. Which is often used as a vegetable.

In biological terms, a vegetable is a member of the plant kingdom. A fruit is the ripened ovary or ovaries, together with seeds, from one or more flowers. The fruits protects and disperses the seeds that contain the embryo. Any part of a plant that contains the seed of the plant is a fruit. So there are many fruits that we use as a vegetable.

It is by definition a fruit.

They are two definitions of fruit, a botanical definition and an agricultural definition. Botanically speaking a tomato is a fruit (a berry). Agriculturally speaking a tomato is a vegetable.

Botanically, a tomato is the ovary, together with its seeds, of a flowering plant.

fruit: The sweet and fleshy product of a tree or other plant that contains seed and can be eaten as food

Tomatoes are technically a fruit because fruits develop from the ovary in the base of the flower, and contains the seeds of the plant, but when cooking tomatoes are considered a vegetable, but they are a fruit.

The definition of a vegetable is: Any plant of which the flowers, roots, tubers, leaves or stems are used as food.

Tomatoes are the fruiting body of the tomato plant and are therefore fruits, along with peppers, squash, eggplant and many others.

Fruit

Tomatoes are both vegetables (members of the plant kingdom) and fruits (ripened ovaries containing seeds). Likewise, squash, cucumbers, and peppers are all the fruit of their respective plants.

The U.S. Tariff Act of March 3, 1883 required a tax to be paid on imported vegetables, but not fruit. Nix v. Hedden, (1893) was a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States that affirmed the lower court ruling that the tomato should be classified under customs regulations as a vegetable rather than a fruit. The Supreme Court unanimously found that tomatoes were vegetables.Justice Horace Gray admitted in his decision that while tomatoes were technically the fruit of a vine, they were always served "at dinner in, with, or after the soup fish or meats which constitute the principal part of the repast, and not, like fruits generally, as dessert."

The US Supreme Court, in 1883, defined the tomato as a vegetable in Nix v. Hedden, but acknowledged that it was botanically a fruit. (see related link) --- "Knowledge is to know that a tomato is a fruit, but wisdom is to know not to put one in a fruit salad."

By U.S. tariff laws, a tomato is considered a vegetable. The applicable law defined produce by its use and not its scientific classification. And from a culinary point of view, a tomato is a vegetable.

Scientifically speaking a tomato is a fruit, it is the part of the plant that holds the seeds.

Fruits are defined by having the seeds within the flesh of the fruit. Such as apples, Pears, cherries and tomatoes.....For culinary purposes tomatoes are used as vegetables

What are Fruits and Vegetables

True fruits develop and contain seeds within the fruit (e.g. raspberries and Oranges for example). Some plants have soft parts which contain the seeds and are not true fruits ("pomes" like the apple or pear, accessory fruits like the strawberry and fig). In cooking, fruits may be called vegetables because of the their use and the tomato therefore is used as a vegetable. Other botanical fruits used as vegetables include eggplants, cucumbers, and squashes such as zucchini and pumpkins. Also a bean pod is technically a fruit. The vegetable is a term used for other edible parts of plants (such as cabbage leaves, celery, and potatoes) which are not the fruit of the plant. So the tomato is the fruit of a tomato plant, but a vegetable for cooking.

Vine Analogy

Like the grape, the tomato grows on a vine, and is considered a berry, and berries are fruits.

A tomato is definitely a fruit. That's why it contains seeds. But most people would call it a vegetable. It's often used as vegetables are used. The term "vegetable" is a culinary term, so a tomato could be a fruit, served as a vegetable. The distinction is blurred by the labeling of "ketchup" as a vegetable when it is more properly a nutritional condiment.

They are classed as fruit. See discussion and associated related links.

A fruit is a plant that we eat that has seeds. A vegetable is a plant that we eat that does not have edible seeds. So, technically, a tomato is a fruit. As are cucumbers, squash, and green beans.

The tomato is a fruit, however for culinary purposes it is used as a vegetable

Technically speaking, a tomato is a fruit; the definition of a fruit doesn't take into account how sweet a natural plant product is or whether it's served for dinner or dessert.

The easiest way to figure out a fruit from a vegetable:

If the seeds are inside, it's a fruit; if the seeds are not inside, it's a vegetable.

One exception is a strawberry it's seeds are on the outside.

Tomatoes are True fruits because they are developed from the ovary in the base of the flower, and contain the seeds of the plant.

Facts aside they are but are generally considered as a vegetable because they are not like other fruits (apples, pears, grapes, etc...).

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12y ago

tomatoes are a fruit because they have seeds just like how pickles are really cucumbers but the lets them sit in vinegar so ya anything could be possible.

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13y ago

They are fruit. Fruit have the seeds of the plant. Vegetables don't carry the seed they are leaves or roots.

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Q: Are tomatoes fruits or vegitables
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