# Fruit & Vegetables- what is the difference? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 21, 2009, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruit-vegetables-what-is-the-difference/486867 "2009-02-21T17:39:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruit-vegetables-what-is-the-difference/486867/1 "2009-02-21T17:39:57Z")
A friend brought this up, saying she’s heard various definitions of how to distinquish between a fruit & a vegetable, so I decided to ask here and if you could direct me to a definitive source. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruit-vegetables-what-is-the-difference/486867/2 "2009-02-21T17:42:59Z")
There are two definitions. One is a botanical definition: a fruit is a ripened ovary. The other is a cultural definition: a fruit is the sweet part of a plant, anything else is a vegetable. And so squashes and chiles and tomatos aren’t fruit. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruit-vegetables-what-is-the-difference/486867/3 "2009-02-21T18:12:41Z")
Obligatory Cecil link > **[What’s the difference between fruits and vegetables?](https://www.straightdope.com/21342753/what-s-the-difference-between-fruits-and-vegetables)** > > A STAFF REPORT FROM THE STRAIGHT DOPE SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruit-vegetables-what-is-the-difference/486867/4 "2009-02-21T18:16:25Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > There are two definitions. > > One is a botanical definition: a fruit is a ripened ovary. > > The other is a cultural definition: a fruit is the sweet part of a plant, anything else is a vegetable. And so squashes and chiles and tomatos aren’t fruit. The way I would put it is that one is a botanical definition, and that’s the one Cecil is talking about in his article. The other is the culinary definition, which can vary from culture to culture. Ed ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruit-vegetables-what-is-the-difference/486867/5 "2009-02-21T19:05:45Z")
Note that there’s no sense in which the statement “A tomato is a fruit, not a vegetable” is true. If you’re using the botanical definition, then a tomato is indeed a fruit, but under the botanical definition, a vegetable is any edible part of a plant. So in the botanical sense, all edible fruits are vegetables, and it makes no more sense to ask “Is a tomato a fruit or a vegetable?” than it does to ask “Is a carrot a root or a vegetable?”, or “Is spinach a leaf or a vegetable?”. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruit-vegetables-what-is-the-difference/486867/6 "2009-02-21T20:52:55Z")
If you eat it for dinner, it’s a vegetable. If you eat it for dessert, it’s a fruit. Go to a supermarket, you’ll find peppers and tomatoes in the vegetable section, and rhubarb in the fruit section. Carrot jam is popular in Portugal, which has led to carrots being classed as fruit. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruit-vegetables-what-is-the-difference/486867/7 "2009-02-21T21:14:50Z")
So ice cream and cookies, a vegetable. My wife doesn’t see it that way. ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruit-vegetables-what-is-the-difference/486867/8 "2009-02-21T21:20:47Z")
If it tastes better with garlic, it’s a vegetable. If it tastes better with chocolate, it’s a fruit. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruit-vegetables-what-is-the-difference/486867/9 "2009-02-21T23:43:37Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > …Carrot jam is popular in Portugal, which has led to carrots being classed as fruit. Well, [not really.](http://www.carrotmuseum.co.uk/trivia.html#veg) > [@](#): > > …the above paragraph in the jam directive does not reclassify them as such, just allows them to be used as fruit. The ‘carrots reclassified as fruit!’ thing is a tabloid legend (along with "EC demands straight bananas!') ---
**Author:** ![Lungfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d78d45/32.png) [@Lungfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lungfish)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2009, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruit-vegetables-what-is-the-difference/486867/10 "2009-02-22T00:02:19Z")
Pick it from a plant then it is a fruit. Dig out of the ground then it is a vegetable. Strawberries = fruit Potatoes = vegetable Carrots = vegetable Apple = fruit etc. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2009, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruit-vegetables-what-is-the-difference/486867/11 "2009-02-22T00:16:44Z")
> [@Lungfish](#): > > Pick it from a plant then it is a fruit. Dig out of the ground then it is a vegetable. > > Strawberries = fruit > Potatoes = vegetable > Carrots = vegetable > Apple = fruit > etc. Spinach? Lettuce? Celery? Beans? - all fruit by this definition. ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2009, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruit-vegetables-what-is-the-difference/486867/12 "2009-02-22T01:45:42Z")
It also includes brussel sprouts. No way are brussel sprouts a fruit! ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2009, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruit-vegetables-what-is-the-difference/486867/13 "2009-02-22T01:49:12Z")
Mmmmm… Sprouts and custard. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2009, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruit-vegetables-what-is-the-difference/486867/14 "2009-02-22T02:02:00Z")
Harvey Milk was a fruit. Terry Schaivo was a vegetable. ---
**Author:** ![Vox\_Imperatoris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Vox\_Imperatoris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vox_Imperatoris)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2009, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruit-vegetables-what-is-the-difference/486867/15 "2009-02-22T02:33:01Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > Harvey Milk was a fruit. Terry Schaivo was a vegetable. 😃 Best response. Valete, Vox Imperatoris ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2009, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruit-vegetables-what-is-the-difference/486867/16 "2009-02-22T02:38:03Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > Harvey Milk was a fruit. Terry Schaivo was a vegetable. This made me laugh out loud. I’m going to Hell now, aren’t I? ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2009, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruit-vegetables-what-is-the-difference/486867/17 "2009-02-22T13:43:52Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > Harvey Milk was a fruit. Terry Schaivo was a vegetable. You won’t believe how long I restrained myself from making a similar observation. I give you credit for being way more clever than I was going to be. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2009, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruit-vegetables-what-is-the-difference/486867/18 "2009-02-22T19:24:49Z")
So if Milk hadn’t died, but lost all cerebral function, he’d have been a tomato? ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2009, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruit-vegetables-what-is-the-difference/486867/19 "2009-02-22T19:37:35Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Mmmmm… Sprouts and custard. Surely you jest :dubious: I have a sneaky feeling I’ve been whooshed:smack: ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2009, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruit-vegetables-what-is-the-difference/486867/20 "2009-02-22T19:38:13Z")
> [@Nametag](#): > > So if Milk hadn’t died, but lost all cerebral function, he’d have been a tomato? Quite possibly. And Terry would be a cantaloupe.