Did you know Tomato is technically a fruit but often called a vegetable due to its profuse use in cuisines?
Thus, read on to unveil the true science behind fruits while understanding their culinary significance.
What Are The Qualifications For a Fruit?
As per science, fruits are mature ripened ovaries that contain plant seeds. After successful pollination, you can see flowers turn into fruits.
This definition aligns with the botanical standpoint as well. But it begs to differ with a culinary definition for fruits.
So, many fruits and vegetables are mistakenly referred to as one another. For instance, Bell Peppers, Pumpkins are botanically fruits. But they are treated as vegetables.
Therefore, it must be a mature ovary to qualify as fruits. They must not be root or stem, or leaf. Also, they should aid in seed formation, protection, and spread.
What Makes a Fruit a Fruit?
The answer to what makes a fruit a fruit depends on how you define it.
As per culinary, fruits are an edible sweet or sour-tasting part of a plant which you can eat raw or cooked.
So, the culinary viewpoint is more flexible and subjective than the technical viewpoint on fruits.
Meanwhile, science demands fruits to be the ovary of a flowering plant. Here, an ovary is a plant’s female organ located in the flower.
Further, fruits form on the plant only after proper pollination. They must contain seeds that will carry the plant’s legacy.
Here are the names of fruits that are mistaken as vegetables due to subjective definitions and methods of use.
- Tomatoes
- Cucumbers
- Bell Peppers
- Pumpkins
- Eggplants
- Zucchini
Editor’s Note
Plant Flowers Fruits & Produce Seeds!
Only the flowering plants produce flowers which in turn produce true fruits with seeds in them.
But again, remember the common understanding of fruits is semantic and varies in everyday language.
All The Best!
