# Are corn and potatoes vegetables?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-corn-and-potatoes-vegetables/248937>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 6, 2004, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-corn-and-potatoes-vegetables/248937 "2004-06-06T10:25:44Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![brianmelendez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/65b543/32.png) [@brianmelendez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianmelendez)\
**Post date:** [June 6, 2004, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-corn-and-potatoes-vegetables/248937/1 "2004-06-06T10:25:44Z")

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I have always thought so. But my girlfriend, who is much smarter than I am, says otherwise, suggesting that cereals and starches and such are in a different category than vegetables. Unfortunately my knowledge of botany is too limited for fruitful (no pun intended) investigation.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

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**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\
**Post date:** [June 6, 2004, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-corn-and-potatoes-vegetables/248937/2 "2004-06-06T10:36:27Z")

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My understanding is that a vegetable is any plant or plant part that is eaten.  
Your girlfriend seems to have a narrower definition.

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**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\
**Post date:** [June 6, 2004, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-corn-and-potatoes-vegetables/248937/3 "2004-06-06T10:38:01Z")

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Well, corn, aka Maize, **is** a grain.

But potatos are a vegetable.

“Starches” are not a recognized botanical term, but fad dieters aren’t subject to anybody’s rules–except those of the conartists who come up with the fad diets, that is. :rolleyes:

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**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\
**Post date:** [June 6, 2004, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-corn-and-potatoes-vegetables/248937/4 "2004-06-06T12:00:07Z")

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> [@brianmelendez](#):
>
> Unfortunately my knowledge of botany is too limited for fruitful (no pun intended) investigation.

I don’t think “vegetable” is a botanical term, either. To a botanist, it’s a fruit, seed, root, leaf, etc.

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**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\
**Post date:** [June 6, 2004, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-corn-and-potatoes-vegetables/248937/5 "2004-06-06T12:18:52Z")

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Straight Dope Staff Reports: [What’s the difference between fruits and vegetables?](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mveggie.html) and [Are strawberries fruits? The seeds are on the outside, not the inside](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mstrawbe.html)

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**Author:** ![pyrrthon1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/2acd7d/32.png) [@pyrrthon1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pyrrthon1)\
**Post date:** [June 6, 2004, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-corn-and-potatoes-vegetables/248937/6 "2004-06-06T12:36:33Z")

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So where do legumes (beans) fit in here?

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**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\
**Post date:** [June 6, 2004, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-corn-and-potatoes-vegetables/248937/7 "2004-06-06T23:08:31Z")

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In the botanical sense they are the fruiting body of a plant and legumes are fruits. In the culinary sense they are vegetables.

In the botanical sense if there was a flower involved before the item was produced then it’s a fruit.

Someone once defined a culinary vegetable as something eaten with cream or ice-cream and a culinary vegetable as something eaten with gravy. Not a perfect definition but it works most times.