How many times we meet those people who, every time say anything, they’re like “well, botanically speaking, tomatoes aren’t vegetables, they’re fruits!”. So, before we jump right into the topic, it is suggested you not to be that person, empirically speaking!

That said, knowing the real classifications of the food we consume every day tells us a lot about where vegetables and fruits come from and how they’re produced.

For instance, anything that is a stem, root, leaf or any edible part of a plant classifies as a vegetable. Meaning, there can be some vegetables that you might have thought of as ‘fruits.

Take cooked Rhubarb, for example, many believed it is kind of fruit thing because it is in desserts, and it tastes so sweet. However, it is a stem of a plant, therefore – a vegetable!

Scroll down to see five food items that we think of as vegetables are actually fruits!

Tomato

The most common and perhaps annoying one. Tomato is that one ‘fruit’ that most people love talking about!

The logic behind calling tomatoes a fruit is, “anything that develops from the ovary of a flowering plant, or in a seed-bearing part of a plant, is classified as “fruit.”

Even though tomatoes are most commonly used in savoury dishes, and are not sweet, their development from the ovary located at the base of the flower, make them fruit.

Eggplant

The fun part is, they are not only considered as “fruits” in botany but are technically classified as a berry.

If we cut open eggplants and look closely, there are several tiny seeds fixed in its flesh, making it termed as fruit and not a vegetable in books.

Bell Peppers

There is no denying that bell peppers are believed and used as vegetables, but they are fruits as well. Bell peppers’ seeds can easily be seen, and thus they fit the bill as a fruit and not a vegetable.

Olives

Having the quintessential green color is not enough for olives to be classified as a vegetable. Yes, they are fruits!

Not only it is shocking to know that olives are fruits, but they are also exceedingly bitter right off the tree. In order to turn them palatable, olives need to be cured with a brine (made of vinegar, salt and/or water) or plain water. This helps to take the oleuropein compound off the olives, making them tasty.

Pumpkin

Pumpkins surely look too big to be a fruit – but they actually are fruit!

If you ever carve a pumpkin and look closely, you’ll see a big mess of seeds. So, technically and botanically speaking, every seed-bearing part of a plant will eventually be called a fruit, even if they don’t really look one.

Conclusion:

There is a general notion worldwide that vegetables are savouries and fruits are sweet; this gives rise to such misunderstandings. Since some vegetables taste very sweet and some fruits are not actually sweet. Nevertheless, the classification of fruits and vegetables isn’t important. But what important is eating a variety of both to get the diverse nutrients our body needs to function properly. Contact NRTC Fresh today and get precut and prepacked high-quality vegetables & fresh fruits online delivery in the comfort of your home.