The vegetable imposters which are actually fruit in disguise.
The tomato has taken quite a hit over the years with its position amongst its fellow counterparts in the fruit & veg isle being questioned. After all this time, not once has it let on that there are actually others flying under the radar suffering from the same identity crisis.
Botanically speaking, a fruit is the part of a plant that develops from a flower that contains seeds for reproduction. All other parts of the plant, including the roots, stems, and leaves are classed as vegetables.
The confusion or uncertainty of the correct classification generally comes down to the way the product is commonly used. From a culinary viewpoint, a lot of foods that are technically fruits are typically referred to as vegetables simply because they’re stored, prepared, and cooked like a vegetable and eaten in savoury dishes. For example, ratatouille is considered to be a vegetable stew however its main ingredients are eggplant, zucchini, capsicum, and tomatoes. Onion and garlic aside, it’s technically a chunky fruit smoothie.
A way to 'loosly' think about this is that if it contains seeds then it's most likely a fruit. There's going to be the odd exception to this rule but this will cover most of it. At the end of the day, unless you’re a horticulturist or a botanist, it’s not really going to make much of a difference what you call them. Occasionally someone will correct you but it’s usually in a “fun fact” context anyway.
Here are some other fruits that are often classed as vegetables:
▹Chilli ▹Corn ▹Tomato
▹Cucumber ▹Zucchini ▹Coconut
▹Pumpkin ▹Squash ▹String Beans
▹Olives ▹Capsicum ▹Avocado
▹Eggplant ▹Figs ▹Okra
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