Is a tomato a fruit or a vegetable?

Answer

What we consider as fruit are mainly fruits (grapes, oranges, …) or false fruits (pineapple, strawberry, …) while vegetables comprise a wide variety of plant parts such as fruits (zucchini, pepper, tomato, …), stems ( asparagus, …), roots (carrots, …), leaves (spinach, chicory, …), flowers (cauliflower, …). The confusion ‘is a tomato vegetable or fruit’ is mainly due to the fact that we eat the striking fruit of the tomato.

The division we make into fruit and vegetables is therefore not based on the plant part we eat (e.g. fruits or leaves) but rather on the way of preparation and consumption: What is mainly prepared in the pot is considered to be vegetables, one usually eats ‘out of hand’ like fruit. Tomatoes are mainly prepared in the pot and are therefore classified by most in the vegetable category. The division into fruit and vegetables is purely artificial and above all practical and therefore there is no scientific definition.

Cultural factors also play an important role in what people place in which category. In France, potatoes are usually considered a vegetable, while in Flanders we consider them a staple food. In some Asian countries, certain fruits are prepared as vegetables when young, unripe. The same fruits are eaten when ripe as fruit and are therefore often given a different name. Or how about this: Apples are usually eaten as fruit, but sometimes you can also find them as applesauce with food.