Actually, It's A Veggie AND A Fruit

I am very, very tired of seeing things all over the internet such as "...actually a fruit but cooked and eaten as a vegetable" or, "...it isn't a vegetable, it's a fruit."  This is so dang silly.  And so dang wrong.

Even though we often think of vegetables and fruits as two separate halves to the plant world, they actually overlap, and aren't opposites at all.  When somebody says that something "is a fruit, not a vegetable," they are only half right.  Chances are, that thing is a fruit AND a vegetable.

Why?  Because 'vegetable' is not a botanical designation.  When people are saying something is technically the fruit of a plant, they mean that botanically.  In terms of plants, parts of the plant have names... seed, root, fruit, stem, etc.  There is no such thing as the "vegetable" part of the plant.  For instance, a tomato is the fruit of the plant, botanically.

The word 'vegetable' is a culinary term, not a botanical one.  We use the word 'vegetable' to indicate any one of a number of various plant-based foods that we consider savory instead of sweet.  For instance, a tomato is a vegetable because we use it in savory dishes.  But in botanical terms, vegetables can be the fruits, roots, seeds, stems, or leaves of the plant... sometimes even the flowers of the plant.  Vegetable is a culinary designation; saying something is the 'fruit' of the plant doesn't necessarily make it not also a vegetable.

So there you have it.  Vegetables are actually various parts of the plant, including the fruit... tomatoes are the fruits of the plant, radishes are roots, bell pepper is a fruit, lettuce is a leaf, carrot is a root, corn is a seed, asparagus is a stem, broccoli is a flower bud, and on and on.

So next time somebody smugly tells you, "actually tomatoes aren't a vegetable, they are a fruit," you can smugly tell them right back, "actually, dear, it's both, and you are confusing your terminology."  And, pleaase do, 'cuz I'd really like it to stop.

Happy vegetable eating!