Re: Fruit or Veggie??

[Guest guest]

Well, they are a berry type fruit, along with peppers. So I guess they'd go into the fruit catagory for food combining. I just asked my wife because she is into food combining, and she says to consider them a fruit.

Peace, love, laughter

Where do you all place tomatoes? I grew up being told they're vegetables, but heard later they're berries.

So if I'm trying the food-combining thing, at least to the degree of not eating fruit with anything else, am I supposed to be putting tomatoes in the green salad?? The DH likes them in there, but I can always keep them separate and he could add them to his own salad.

Thanks!Ev

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[Guest guest]

Here is the definition of fruit:

“The term fruit has different meanings depending on context. In botany, a fruit is the ripened ovary—together with seeds—of a flowering plant. In many species, the fruit incorporates the ripened ovary and surrounding tissues. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants disseminate seeds. In cuisine, when discussing fruit as food, the term usually refers to just those plant fruits that are sweet and fleshy, examples of which include plum, apple and orange. However, a great many common vegetables, as well as nuts and grains, are the fruit of the plant species they come from. No one terminology really fits the enormous variety that is found among plant fruits. Botanical terminology for fruits is inexact and will remain so.” (Wikipedia.org)

Are we clear now? Or are you just more confused? Don’t feel bad; many others are confused too. Here is what Science Bob has to say about this question: Is a tomato a fruit or a vegetable?

Answer: “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, 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. VEGETABLES such as, radishes, celery, carrots, and lettuce do NOT have seeds (that are part of what we eat) and so they are grouped as vegetables.”

By these definitions, a pumpkin is a fruit, botanically speaking. So are squash and zucchini.

Modern society commonly refers to all these fruits as vegetables:

Pumpkin Squash Tomato Cucumbers Green beans Capsicum peppers Bell peppers

The definition of vegetable:

“Vegetable is a culinary term. Its definition has no scientific value and is somewhat arbitrary and subjective. All parts of herbaceous plants eaten as food by humans, whole or in part, are generally considered vegetables. Mushrooms, though belonging to the biological kingdom, fungi, are also commonly considered vegetables…Since ‘vegetable’ is not a botanical term, there is no contradiction in referring to a plant part as a fruit while also being considered a vegetable. Given this general rule of thumb, vegetables can include leaves (lettuce), stems (asparagus), roots (carrots), flowers (broccoli), bulbs (garlic), seeds (peas and beans) and of course the botanical fruits like cucumbers, squash, pumpkins, and capsicums.” (Wikipedia.org)

This is the correct answer for all your food trivia pursuits:

If you are speaking in a botanical, scientific context, then pumpkin, tomato, capsicum, cucumber, tomato and squash are FRUITS because they all have seeds. If you are speaking in culinary terms, they can all be properly called VEGETABLES.

Case solved, right? Not quite. The United States Supreme Court entered into this fascinating debate and gave a legal verdict on whether a tomato should be classified as a vegetable or a fruit. They decided unanimously, in Nix versus Hedden, 1883, that a tomato is a vegetable, even though it is a botanical fruit.

So, there you have the difference between fruit and vegetable and an amazing nutrition fact. A tomato is a fruit AND a vegetable. A pumpkin is a fruit AND a vegetable. The age-old question of "Is it a fruit or vegetable?" has been resolved. Next, we will tackle "Which came first - the chicken or the egg?" (You do know it was the chicken first, right?)

Suzi

List Owner

health/

[Guest guest]

Interesting - with humor, too!Thanks, Suzi!Ev

[Guest guest]

your very welcome..

Suzi

From: <autumn3scorpio@...>Subject: Re: Fruit or Veggie??health Date: Monday, September 15, 2008, 1:55 PM

Interesting - with humor, too!Thanks, Suzi!Ev

[Guest guest]

Botanically speaking, all that contains seeds is a fruit -- tomato, squash, zucchini, eggplant, pepper, etc.

Rena

Fruit or Veggie??

Where do you all place tomatoes? I grew up being told they're vegetables, but heard later they're berries.

So if I'm trying the food-combining thing, at least to the degree of not eating fruit with anything else, am I supposed to be putting tomatoes in the green salad?? The DH likes them in there, but I can always keep them separate and he could add them to his own salad.

Thanks!Ev