# What is the differenct between a vegetable and a fruit? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 3, 2003, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-differenct-between-a-vegetable-and-a-fruit/211066 "2003-11-03T01:15:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![alimarx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@alimarx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alimarx)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2003, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-differenct-between-a-vegetable-and-a-fruit/211066/21 "2003-11-04T22:25:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by prisoner6655321 \* > **Fruits are meant to be eaten. If the plant could speak it would say so** I’m not so sure they’re that smart. I thought fruit were mean to propagate seeds. ---
**Author:** ![newcrasher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b3f665/32.png) [@newcrasher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcrasher)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2003, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-differenct-between-a-vegetable-and-a-fruit/211066/22 "2003-11-04T22:44:05Z")
Vegetables can’t hear, see or speak. Fruits are gay. Frankly I think it is insensitive to compare the two. ---
**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:** [November 5, 2003, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-differenct-between-a-vegetable-and-a-fruit/211066/23 "2003-11-05T00:14:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by swansont \* > \*\*I think the refence was to things other than glazes and garnishes. If you were to eat a duck and an orange, as separate items (i.e. you can get the duck without l’orange and more importantly get the l’orange without the duck), then you might have a point. > > But then, one might invoke the modifier _normally_ and make a conclusion about you. :eek: 😃 \*\* OTOH, the Portugese make jam out of carrots, so the EC have decided to define them as fruit. Strange World. ---
**Author:** ![prisoner6655321](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f8ce5/32.png) [@prisoner6655321](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/prisoner6655321)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2003, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-differenct-between-a-vegetable-and-a-fruit/211066/24 "2003-11-06T18:47:17Z")
Stupid hungry gerbils working with the filter at work ate my post yesterday. And it was soo great! Fruits have seeds. But wait, is a naval orange a fruit? Maybe it’s best to define a fruit by what it is not: a leaf, shoot, stem, or root. That defines a vegetable. Basically, if you can eat all of whatever it is without killing the plant (eat all the leaves of a lettuce plant and you’ll kill it.) then it’s a fruit. Fruit plants WANT you to eat their fruit. That’s what fruit is for. It helps them to spread their seeds. If they could speak they would say so. But if vegetables could speak they would say, "Hey! What do you think you’re doing there? Stop THAT! HEY!! YOU! Ouch!! I’m serious now! That **HURTS! Stop that! Ouch!! AAAARGGGHHHH!!!** ---
**Author:** ![wet\_marble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e0b2c6/32.png) [@wet\_marble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wet_marble)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2003, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-differenct-between-a-vegetable-and-a-fruit/211066/25 "2003-11-06T20:24:00Z")
Tomatos were actually classified as a vegetable by the supreme court so that the US government could tax them. My question is how did the cucumber become a vegetable? ---
**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:** [November 7, 2003, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-differenct-between-a-vegetable-and-a-fruit/211066/26 "2003-11-07T03:38:46Z")
A fruit is the part of a plant that carries or would carry the seads. A vegetable is a part of a plant that you eat. So lettuce leaves, broccoli flowers, carrot roots, and rhubarb stems are vegetables, but not fruits. Maple helicopters, sycamore balls, rosehips, and crabapples are fruits, but not vegetables. Tomatoes, cucumbers, apples, and oranges are both fruits and vegetables. ---
**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:** [November 7, 2003, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-differenct-between-a-vegetable-and-a-fruit/211066/27 "2003-11-07T03:45:42Z")
A fruit is the part of a plant that carries or would carry the seads. A vegetable is a part of a plant that you eat. So lettuce leaves, broccoli flowers, carrot roots, and rhubarb stems are vegetables, but not fruits. Maple helicopters, sycamore balls, rosehips, and crabapples are fruits, but not vegetables. Tomatoes, cucumbers, apples, and oranges are both fruits and vegetables. ---
**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:** [November 7, 2003, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-differenct-between-a-vegetable-and-a-fruit/211066/28 "2003-11-07T03:56:29Z")
A fruit is the part of a plant that carries or would carry the seads. A vegetable is a part of a plant that you eat. So lettuce leaves, broccoli flowers, carrot roots, and rhubarb stems are vegetables, but not fruits. Maple helicopters, sycamore balls, rosehips, and crabapples are fruits, but not vegetables. Tomatoes, cucumbers, apples, and oranges are both fruits and vegetables. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-differenct-between-a-vegetable-and-a-fruit/211066.md?page=1)