Why tomatoes are vegetables

It may also be somewhat tart or tangy. Conversely, a vegetable typically has a blander and possibly bitter flavor. It usually has a tougher texture than fruit and, though some are enjoyed raw, may require cooking. Botanical classification is based on the structure and function of the plant, while culinary classification is based on flavor and recipe application. According to science, tomatoes are fruits. All fruits have a single seed or many seeds inside and grow from the flower of a plant 2.

Like other true fruits, tomatoes form from small yellow flowers on the vine and naturally contain a multitude of seeds. These seeds can later be harvested and used to produce more tomato plants.

Interestingly, some modern varieties of tomato plants have been intentionally cultivated to stop producing seeds. Even when this is the case, a tomato is still considered to be the fruit of the plant in botanical terms. Much of the confusion about whether a tomato is a fruit or vegetable comes from the common culinary applications for tomatoes.

Cooking is as much an art as it is a science, which tends to give way to more flexibility for how different foods are categorized. In cooking, tomatoes are usually used alone or paired alongside other true vegetables in savory dishes. This was the method of classification used by the US Supreme Court in during a legal dispute with a tomato importer who argued his tomatoes should be considered fruits to avoid the higher vegetable tariff. It was during this case that the court ruled the tomato would be classified as a vegetable on the basis of its culinary applications instead of its botanical categorization as a fruit.

The rest is history 3. Though much less common, sometimes vegetables are utilized more like fruits in certain culinary scenarios, too. This is also exemplified in other dishes like carrot cake or sweet potato pie. Some other fruits that are used as vegetables include squash, pea pods and cucumber.

In fact, the US Supreme Court ruled in that the tomato should be classified as a vegetable on the basis of its culinary applications. Many plants that are considered to be vegetables are actually fruits. Do you eat it for dessert? Do you eat it for dinner? Problem solved.

In all the ways that matter to most consumers, tomatoes are not fruit. Score one for that irritating person we all know who insists that tomatoes are properly a fruit. After Congress passed a tariff act that imposed a 10 percent tax on whole vegetables, vegetable merchants tried to bring in some tomatoes and not pay the tariff, arguing as so many misguided souls have since that tomatoes are, actually, a fruit.

So scientifically, fruits don't have to be sweet, but in the kitchen, most people would classify the fruits that fall on the savory side, like tomatoes, as vegetables. Nutritionists recognize the terms as they are commonly used, and tomatoes are listed as a vegetable under USDA guidelines.

Even the Supreme Court has weighed in on the issue. In , the high court was forced to rule on whether imported tomatoes should be taxed under the Tariff Act of , which only applied to vegetables and not fruits. Although both sides cited dictionary definitions of the two words, the court sided unanimously with TeamVegetable.

That idea was channeled more than years later in a quote attributed to journalist Miles Kington, who may have settled the debate once and for all:.

Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad," he said. For you. World globe An icon of the world globe, indicating different international options. Get the Insider App. Click here to learn more. A leading-edge research firm focused on digital transformation. Good Subscriber Account active since Shortcuts. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders.