# The tomato is a fruit. Why? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 29, 2000, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tomato-is-a-fruit-why/31126 "2000-08-29T01:50:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Moe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moe/32/2972_2.png) [@Moe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moe)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2000, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tomato-is-a-fruit-why/31126/1 "2000-08-29T01:50:16Z")
What distinguishes a fruit from a vegetable? ---
**Author:** ![Doobieous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Doobieous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doobieous)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2000, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tomato-is-a-fruit-why/31126/2 "2000-08-29T01:56:25Z")
Fruit - the part of the plant that contains seeds Vegetable - The other parts that are eaten (being as general as I can here :)) ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2000, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tomato-is-a-fruit-why/31126/3 "2000-08-29T01:56:53Z")
Fruits have seeds and stored nutrients to help them grow. (In many cases, of course, the stored nutrients wind up being eaten by animals, and in lots of cases, the plants actually take advantage of this–many a plant passes through the digestive tract of some animal as an essential part of its life cycle.) Vegetables are other parts of plants–leaves and stems and that sort of thing. ---
**Author:** ![Kilgore\_Trout\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6de8d8/32.png) [@Kilgore\_Trout\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilgore_Trout_1)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2000, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tomato-is-a-fruit-why/31126/4 "2000-08-29T01:57:10Z")
zzzzzzip. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=32647](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=32647) ---
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2000, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tomato-is-a-fruit-why/31126/5 "2000-08-29T01:59:14Z")
Fruits are the ovaries of the plant in question. Vegetables are whole plants or parts of plants. ---
**Author:** ![chique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@chique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chique)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2000, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tomato-is-a-fruit-why/31126/6 "2000-08-29T01:59:46Z")
It’s my understanding that fruit has its seeds on the inside of the flesh - think cherries and apples and grapes and tomatoes. With vegetables the seeds ARE the flesh (peas, beans, corn) or come from the flowering part of the plant (lettuce, celery). Of course, I’m probably wrong 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2000, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tomato-is-a-fruit-why/31126/7 "2000-08-29T02:02:37Z")
All fruits are vegetables, if you simplify things to animal, vegetable or mineral. Fruits would be a subclass of the larger class of vegetables. A biologist might say that a tomato is a fruit because of a biological classification that biologists made up. (Something to do with seeds and the blossom of the plant) A dietician might say that a tomato is not a fruit because fruits generally eaten during the dessert course of a meal and tomatos are usually eaten during the main course. Biologists and dieticians might say lots of things. So a tomato may or may not be a fruit based on whose arbitrary definition you use, but a tomato is always a vegetable. ---
**Author:** ![Kilgore\_Trout\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6de8d8/32.png) [@Kilgore\_Trout\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilgore_Trout_1)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2000, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tomato-is-a-fruit-why/31126/8 "2000-08-29T02:04:53Z")
> [@](#): > > So a tomato may or may not be a fruit based on whose arbitrary definition you use, but a tomato is always a vegetable. very well, my arbitrary definition of you is that you’re an idiot. hey, i’m only following your logic. ---
**Author:** ![Kilgore\_Trout\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6de8d8/32.png) [@Kilgore\_Trout\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilgore_Trout_1)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2000, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tomato-is-a-fruit-why/31126/9 "2000-08-29T02:06:59Z")
the thing is, a tomato is a fruit. that is what it’s classified as. if you disagree, then why the hell are you at the **straight dope**? this isn’t the **arbitrary opinion**. ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2000, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tomato-is-a-fruit-why/31126/10 "2000-08-29T02:13:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kilgore Trout \* > \*\*the thing is, a tomato is a fruit. > > that is what it’s classified as. if you disagree, then why the hell are you at the **straight dope**? this isn’t the **arbitrary opinion**. > \*\* That is what it is classified as by biologists. Last I heard, biologists are not the final word in the definition of words. There are plenty of words with more than one acceptable defintion. If I asked you to draw a line on a piece of paper, would you tell me it was impossible because a mathematician defines a line as being infinite in length? ---
**Author:** ![Kilgore\_Trout\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6de8d8/32.png) [@Kilgore\_Trout\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilgore_Trout_1)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2000, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tomato-is-a-fruit-why/31126/11 "2000-08-29T02:17:25Z")
ok. so if mr. sous chef thinks that a banana is a meat because he pours gravy on it, does that make it so? mr. dietician’s opinion doesn’t matter, if he’s wrong. he can call a tomato whatever he likes. but it is not a vegetable, according to the language that i assume mr. dietician is using. if he is speaking his own dietician’s dialect of english, then i’m sorry. that wasn’t specified in the OP, or your post. ---
**Author:** ![Kilgore\_Trout\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6de8d8/32.png) [@Kilgore\_Trout\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilgore_Trout_1)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2000, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tomato-is-a-fruit-why/31126/12 "2000-08-29T02:19:41Z")
> [@](#): > > Last I heard, biologists are not the final word in the definition of words no, but i think the opinion of merriam-webster holds a little more water than that of mr. dietician. > [@](#): > > Main Entry: to·ma·to > Pronunciation: t&-'mA-(")tO; chiefly British, eastern New England, northeastern Virginia, and sometimes elsewhere in cultivated speech -‘m[a’]- or -'mä-; chiefly Northern -'ma- > Function: noun > Inflected Form(s): plural -toes > Etymology: alteration of earlier tomate, from Spanish, from Nahuatl tomatl > Date: 1604 > 1 : the usually large rounded typically red or yellow pulpy berry of a tomato > 2 : any of a genus (Lycopersicon) of So. American herbs of the nightshade family; especially : one (L. lycopersicum syn. L. esculentum) that is more or less perennial in its native habitat but is widely cultivated as an annual for its edible fruit ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2000, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tomato-is-a-fruit-why/31126/13 "2000-08-29T02:52:38Z")
Since you seem to be fond of the dictionary. > [@](#): > > Main Entry: 1fruit > Pronunciation: 'früt > Function: noun > Usage: often attributive > Etymology: Middle English, from Old French, from Latin fructus fruit, use, from frui to enjoy, have the use of – more at BROOK > Date: 12th century > 1 a : a product of plant growth (as grain, vegetables, or cotton) \ b (1) : the usually edible reproductive body of a seed plant; especially : one having a sweet pulp associated with the seed \ (2) : a succulent plant part (as the petioles of a rhubarb plant) used chiefly in a dessert or sweet course c : a dish, quantity, or diet of fruits \ d : a product of fertilization in a plant with its modified envelopes or appendages; specifically : the ripened ovary of a seed plant and its contents e : the flavor or aroma of fresh fruit in mature wine. Definition 1 b (2) would exclude the tomato as it is not used in the dessert course. Definition 1 a includes tomatoes but it would also include rice. Definition 1 d agrees with you. (and also my post as I said a tomato could be a fruit or a vegetable depending on the definition you used.) Now is a tomato a vegatable? > [@](#): > > Main Entry: 2vegetable > Function: noun > Date: 1582 > 1 : PLANT 1b > 2 : a usually herbaceous plant (as the cabbage, bean, or potato) grown for an edible part that is usually eaten as part of a meal; also : such edible part. Definition 1 is the same as definition 1 b of plant which is… > [@](#): > > 1b : any of a kingdom (Plantae) of living things typically lacking locomotive movement or obvious nervous or sensory organs and possessing cellulose cell walls. The defintions of plant do not seem to exclude the tomato in any way. So like I said earlier, before I was called an idiot… > [@](#): > > …a tomato may or may not be a fruit based on whose arbitrary definition you use, but a tomato is always a vegetable. **Kilgore Trout** a simply posted apology will do, no need to lavish me with gifts. You were especially out of line with that idiot remark. ---
**Author:** ![Kilgore\_Trout\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6de8d8/32.png) [@Kilgore\_Trout\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilgore_Trout_1)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2000, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tomato-is-a-fruit-why/31126/14 "2000-08-29T02:59:50Z")
sir. it seems you don’t understand the structure of a dictionary. > [@](#): > > Definition 1 b (2) would exclude the tomato as it is not used in the dessert course that is fine. but it is a different definition of the word. just because tomato doesn’t fall into this category, doesn’t mean it is excluded from being a fruit. > [@](#): > > Definition 1 a includes tomatoes but it would also include rice. yes, it also includes grain, vegetables, and cotton. that is why they said “as grain, vegetables, or cotton”. do they have to list every other product of plant growth for you to understand? a gun should not be used if you don’t know how to fire it. ---
**Author:** ![Kilgore\_Trout\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6de8d8/32.png) [@Kilgore\_Trout\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilgore_Trout_1)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2000, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tomato-is-a-fruit-why/31126/15 "2000-08-29T03:01:00Z")
might i point out that nowhere does your dictionary definition state that a tomato is a vegetable? buh. ---
**Author:** ![Kilgore\_Trout\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6de8d8/32.png) [@Kilgore\_Trout\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilgore_Trout_1)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2000, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tomato-is-a-fruit-why/31126/16 "2000-08-29T03:04:04Z")
> [@](#): > > You were especially out of line with that idiot remark. something else that you didn’t understand, it seems. i wasn’t calling you an idiot. i was merely pointing out that just because mr. dietician says something, that doesn’t make it so. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Kentzel-Griffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ccd318/32.png) [@John\_Kentzel-Griffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Kentzel-Griffin)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2000, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tomato-is-a-fruit-why/31126/17 "2000-08-29T03:42:19Z")
from [http://www.delmonte.com/Answers/Default.htm](http://www.delmonte.com/Answers/Default.htm) Q: When is a fruit a vegetable? A: When it’s a tomato. In 1980, the Supreme Court was called in to decide whether farmers should pay fruit or vegetable freight rates when they shipped tomatoes. The tomato was declared a vegetable because it is eaten and prepared like a vegetable. So, if the Supremes say it is a vegetable, anybody who says otherwise is just…, well, un-American! ---
**Author:** ![Kilgore\_Trout\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6de8d8/32.png) [@Kilgore\_Trout\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilgore_Trout_1)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2000, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tomato-is-a-fruit-why/31126/18 "2000-08-29T03:45:31Z")
in toronto, i am. : ) ---
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2000, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tomato-is-a-fruit-why/31126/19 "2000-08-29T04:27:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DrMatrix \* > > So, if the Supremes say it is a vegetable, anybody who says otherwise is just…, well, un-American! :: Boards up house in preparation of assault by ATFV agents :: They can have my tomato when they pry it from my dead, cold fingers!! ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2000, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tomato-is-a-fruit-why/31126/20 "2000-08-29T04:46:09Z")
> [@](#): > > in toronto, i am. : ) Damn Kilgore, you are kicking some ass in this heated tomato debate! Huzzah! I guess when a person is **right** , arguing the truth is easy, eh? > [@](#): > > Definition 1 b (2) would exclude the tomato as it is not used in the dessert course. No it wouldn’t!! It says “used chiefly in a dessert”, it does not say “used only in dessert”. Huge difference. > [@](#): > > Definition 1 a includes tomatoes but it would also include rice. So what does that have to do with anything? Have you never heard the expressions “fruit of the harvest”, “fruits of the crime”, “forbidden fruit”. Usually the fruits of the crime are VCRs and TVs and jewelry. Never arrested a tomato thief yet!! > [@](#): > > Definition 1 d agrees with you. Any why the hell should it not??? There is no debate here. The tomato IS a fruit. Period! Re-read the OP and you will see that he(?) is not asking if the tomato is a fruit or vegetable, he(?) is stating that it _is_, and asking WHY. The question is **"What distinguishes a fruit from a vegetable"** Stop wasting time with your silly interjections and hijacks! If you want to debate the misclassification of the poor tomato, then start a thread in GD. Otherwise, carefully read the decent responses that actually answer the OP. Here is my answer to the OP. (Ok, so it comes from the Encyclopedia Britanica, so what? I looked it up, so it is MINE 🙂 ) **Fruit** -in its strict botanical sense, the fleshy or dry ripened ovary of a plant, enclosing the seed or seeds. Thus, apricots, bananas, and grapes, as well as bean pods, corn grains, tomatoes, cucumbers, and (in their shells) acorns and almonds, are all technically fruits. This definition of fruit is very broad, and encompasses most everything that contains seeds. **Vegetables** then, are everything that’s left. This includes: root crops like potatoes, carrots and turnips, bulbs like onions and garlic, stems like asparagus, leaves like lettuce and cabbage, and flowers like broccoli and cauliflower. And **Lance** before you chime back in with **"It says in the strict botanical sense! That is not the only way to classify a fruit. Because The world really has two different meanings for the word fruit. There is the use of the word when you go to the grocery store, and then there’s the use of the word by a botanist. In the grocery store we all generally understand a fruit to be a natural plant product that is sweet. A vegetable is any natural plant product that is not sweet. In this standard definition, apples, strawberries, grapes and bananas are all fruits, while green beans tomatoes, squash and potatoes are all vegetables."** Remember, the OP already stated that the tomato is a FRUIT, which tells us that he(?) is using the botanical or scientific (real) classification of fruits and vegetables Therefore we would only be wasting his(?) time by starting such a trivial and irrelevant debate in this thread! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tomato-is-a-fruit-why/31126.md?page=2)