Tomato Fruit or Vegetable?
The question of whether the tomato is a fruit or vegetable comes up in many conversations.
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Often people talk to each other using a variety of different language contexts. Sometimes bad means good, sometimes bad means bad.
Tomato talk often falls into this linguist trap. Botanists use the terms fruit and vegetable to describe different parts of plants. Fruits are the mature ovaries (including seeds) of a plant. Many people learn the botany short cut for this concept by describing fruits as foods with seeds.
Botanists commonly define vegetables in opposition to their definition of fruit. Vegetables are the other parts of the plant, including stems, stalks and roots. Under this definition, celery stalks and root vegetables such as carrots fall in the vegetable category.
From a botanical perspective, tomatoes are fruits.
That means, of course, peas and string beans are also technically fruits, which brings us to dinner table conversations. Parents often tell their children to finish their vegetables. Often parents use the term vegetable more loosely with a meaning of, eat your peas and string beans. If parents were using a botanical context when they said finish your vegetables, it would mean, you do not have to finish your string beans and peas.
Lawyer talk also changes the meaning of tomato. Here are three examples of tomatoes being defined three different ways. In 2003, for example, Tennessee declared the tomato the state fruit. In 1987, the people of Arkansas declared the South Arkansas Vine Ripe Pink Tomato as both the state fruit and vegetable. The people of New Jersey are considering designating the Jersey tomato as state vegetable.
So, is a tomato a fruit or vegetable? With all that information, it is still tough to tell.
© 2007. Patricia A. Michaels