Central Texas Gardener - What is the difference between a fruit and a vegetable?

Question of the Week

What is the difference between a fruit and a vegetable?

Well, it depends on who you ask. A cook's definition will differ from a botanist's. In cooking terms, generally, a fruit is sweet and a vegetable is not. So to a chef, a tomato's a vegetable.

But, to a botanist, a fruit is a ripened ovary and any accessory tissue surrounding it. So a tomato is a fruit, like an orange or a pepper.

To a botanist, a vegetable is a plant that is edible for its leaves, stems or roots, including beets, carrots, lettuce, asparagus, leeks, and potatoes.

Then, when you talk to a horticulturist, a vegetable is an herbaceous plant cultivated for an edible purpose, so in that case tomato goes back to being a vegetable!

Thanks to Sara Robertson for the tomato photo!

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