{"id":123,"date":"2021-11-19T09:58:02","date_gmt":"2021-11-19T14:58:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/colquitthomeowners\/?p=123"},"modified":"2021-11-19T09:58:04","modified_gmt":"2021-11-19T14:58:04","slug":"when-is-a-vegetable-really-a-fruit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/colquitthomeowners\/2021\/11\/when-is-a-vegetable-really-a-fruit\/","title":{"rendered":"When is a vegetable really a fruit?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Emily S Davenport for CAES News<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Tomatoes
Tomatoes, the subject of the age-old argument: Are they a fruit or a vegetable?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

From an early age, we\u2019re told by our parents to make sure we eat our vegetables.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. Department of Agriculture<\/a> recommends that people eat five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables per day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, there\u2019s long been confusion around what is a vegetable versus a fruit \u2014 tomatoes, we\u2019re looking at you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, when is a vegetable actually a fruit \u2014 or a root or a shoot?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The situation informs the definition<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

University of Georgia Cooperative Extension<\/a> vegetable specialist Tim Coolong<\/a> explains that the definition of a vegetable varies depending on how scientific you want to get.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From a consumer perspective, the difference between a vegetable and a fruit is how the item is consumed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA vegetable is a food item used to complement other items in a main dish, while a fruit would generally be consumed by itself as a snack or as a dessert,\u201d Coolong said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From a research and grower perspective, the difference is more about how they are grown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThough there are exceptions, veggies tend to be managed as annual crops, while fruits are more often perennials grown on bushes or trees,\u201d Coolong said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA fruit specialist would work with peaches, apples and oranges, all of which require the same skill sets when growing them. And a vegetable specialist growing tomatoes, peppers and eggplant would grow those items similarly, even though all three of them are fruits, botanically speaking,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you catch that? Scientifically, tomatoes, peppers and eggplants are all fruits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It all comes down to science<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When you break it down botanically, the definition of a vegetable gets fuzzy \u2014 and you wind up in arguments with your trivia group about whether a pumpkin is a fruit or a vegetable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So let\u2019s dig into the more botanical classifications of some of our favorite foods, because there are a few that might surprise you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, anything that contains the seeds of the plant is a fruit, not a vegetable. This category includes items many consider to be vegetables, including squash, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, eggplant and avocados.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, pumpkins are a fruit!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peas and beans are a bit trickier, because if you just eat what\u2019s inside the pod, you\u2019re eating the seed. But, if you are also munching on the pod, then you\u2019re eating both the fruit and the seed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
Pumpkins and other squash contain seeds, so they are botanically considered a fruit.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"A
Peppers are also botanically considered a fruit but would be grown by a vegetable specialist.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Avocados
Avocados are a fruit \u2014 the pit inside is a giant seed.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What other parts of plants are edible?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Broccoli and cauliflower are both immature flowers of the plant. Cauliflower is very underdeveloped, which is why it\u2019s so tightly bound up compared to broccoli. Artichokes are also flowers that have yet to bloom. The choke of the artichoke \u2014 the prickly, fuzzy stuff above the artichoke\u2019s heart that you regret eating almost immediately \u2014 ultimately becomes the gorgeous purple flower of the artichoke plant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cabbage, Brussels sprouts, lettuce, kale and chard are all made up of leaf tissue and, if left alone long enough, the plant will flower. Gardeners call this bolting. Asparagus are the shoots of the plant, and the tip would develop leaves that look like ferns if left in the field long enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carrots, radishes, beets and many other root vegetables are the swollen tap root of the plant. The tap root seeks out water for the plant, which are the greens growing from the top of the root. Plants don\u2019t just have one root, which is why \u2014 when you pull a carrot out of the ground \u2014 there are often lots of little hairy looking rootlets on them as well. Sometimes you\u2019ll even get a two- or three-legged carrot, which means it sent out more than one tap root, or the tap root split into multiple branches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Bundles
Asparagus are the shoots of the plant, and the tip would develop leaves that look like ferns if left alone.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"A
Carrots are the swollen tap root of the plant. Plants don\u2019t just have one root, which is why there are often lots of little hairy looking rootlets on them as well.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"An
While onions look like a bulb, they are actually compressed leaf tissue that grows underground.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Speaking of roots \u2014 sweet potatoes are tuberous roots, but white potatoes are true shoot tubers. Tubers are an extension of the plant that will one day create an entirely new plant. That\u2019s why your store-bought potatoes will start sprouting on their own in your cupboards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Onions are another anomaly. While they may be bulb shaped, they actually are compressed leaf tissue that grows underground. A bulb of garlic, however, is a true bulb similar to flower bulbs like tulips and daffodils. In a head of garlic, there is a thin layer of leaf tissue that surrounds each clove, each of which is a separate bulb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A fruit is just a fruit, right?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Now, \u201cvegetables\u201d may be a bit convoluted, but fruits are pretty straightforward, right? Well, maybe not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take strawberries for example. Scientifically, the flesh of the strawberry is not the fruit. The fruits are the tiny seed-like things on the outside, embedded in the red flesh. Each one of those contains a seed. The delicious juicy flesh is an extension of the plant that holds the flower.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On raspberries and blackberries, all of the little spheres on the berry are separate fruits, scientifically known as drupes. So, a single raspberry is actually a cluster of drupes or fruits, and within each drupe is a seed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One more fun fact to tuck into your trivia pocket \u2014 figs are a fleshy, inside-out flower. Which is why you never see a fig tree with a \u201ctraditional\u201d flower on it. That fruit that you\u2019re enjoying is the flower. This helps explain why figs need to be pollinated by tiny wasps that crawl inside of the fig. But that\u2019s another story for another time!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
The fruits in this photo are the tiny seed-like things on the outside of the strawberry, embedded in the red flesh. Each one of those contains a seed.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"A
Each little sphere on these blackberries is a separate fruit called a drupe. Within each drupe is a single seed.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Figs
Figs are not a fruit. They are a fleshy, inside-out flower.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Emily Davenport is the digital marketing and social media strategist for UGA’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Thank you for your time, please contact your local extension agent with any questions

Thank You,

Jeremy Kichler
Colquitt County Extension Coordinator<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Emily S Davenport for CAES News From an early age, we\u2019re told by our parents to make sure we eat our vegetables. The U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends that people eat five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables per day. However, there\u2019s long been confusion around what is a vegetable versus a fruit \u2014 tomatoes, we\u2019re looking at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":281,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/colquitthomeowners\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/colquitthomeowners\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/colquitthomeowners\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/colquitthomeowners\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/281"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/colquitthomeowners\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=123"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/colquitthomeowners\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":124,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/colquitthomeowners\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123\/revisions\/124"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/colquitthomeowners\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/colquitthomeowners\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/colquitthomeowners\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}