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What is the difference between a fruit and a vegetable?

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By glassvisage


www.cimscuriocorner.com
www.cimscuriocorner.com

Many people can say that an apple is a fruit and a pepper is a vegetable, but what scientifically is the distinction between the two types of foods?

The answer is based on the parts of the plant involved. Basically, fruits are developed from flowers, vegetables aren't.

A fruit is the ripened ovary/ovaries of the flower of a seed-bearing plant, and are derived from carpels, the plant's basic female reproductive part. Fruits contain seeds, which serve as the ovules of the plant. Once a plant starts growing flowers and the flowers are fertilized, the flower can then develop into a fruit with seeds.

Fruits are the ways that seeds can be spread, whether by falling from the plant to the ground or being eaten by an animal or human and spread in the leavings. Technically, anything with seeds should be classified as a fruit. Radishes and lettuce don't have seeds, but squash do!

Fruits are often so sweet because they contain plenty of fructose, which vegetables have little of.

Even nuts are fruits!

Vegetables are not made from flowers; instead, they are the plant's roots (carrots), stems (celery), leaves (cabbage) and other edible parts of a plant. And mushrooms don't count.

Here is a list of fruits many people consider to be vegetables:

  • Tomatoes
  • Pumpkins
  • Cucumbers
  • Squash and zucchini
  • Peppers (all types!)
  • Avocado


Comments

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fishskinfreak2008 profile image

fishskinfreak2008  says:
2 years ago

Very interesting

jaymz profile image

jaymz  says:
2 years ago

Cool. I always get this confused.

Patty Inglish, MS profile image

Patty Inglish, MS  says:
2 years ago

Good hub!

ripplemaker profile image

ripplemaker  says:
2 years ago

Good question and great answer! :-)

coolio  says:
14 months ago

cool , cheers

Evan  says:
14 months ago

I had to surch this for my class.You told me the ansewr.

mapsandearth profile image

mapsandearth  says:
14 months ago

i think fruit can't cook it but vegetable yes ;-)

nokos  says:
13 months ago

Just remember (if it has seeds in the middle or on the outside for strawberries it is a fruit) thats how i remember. Oh and corn is a fruit to i didn't know that one.

Farmrr  says:
9 months ago

I was told that a strawberry is a nut not a fruit. Because its seed is on the outside

d.p  says:
9 months ago

u stinkers

Toni  says:
8 months ago

Great answer. I have been wondering abouth this for a while but what are peas and runner beans then? They should be fruit also?!!

Mitch Kaminski  says:
6 months ago

The difference is that a Fruit is what a Plant, Bush, or Tree produce. A vegetable IS the Plant, leaves or roots themselves. Carrots, onions, cabbage, turnips, radishes, broccoli, cauliflower, potatoes. These are all, Plants or the roots of a plant. Thus Vegetation. Melons, berries, apples, cherries, plums, peaches, tomato’s, and dry fruits, such as nuts, grains, beans and peas. These are all something the Vegetation has produced. The apple tree produces, Apples. Apples are the fruit. If you ate the tree or the leave or roots of the tree, you would be eating Vegetation, or vegetables.

swathin2 profile image

swathin2  says:
5 months ago

very interesting and cool one. nice way of differentiation between a fruit and a vegetable

jenepha  says:
5 months ago

my doubt is ,after the development of flowers only both the vegetables and fruita develop.then why it is metioned as fruit develops from ovary....

Suzie Parker profile image

Suzie Parker  says:
2 months ago

You taught me something I didn't know tonight. Very interesting, thanks.

loveofnight profile image

loveofnight  says:
2 months ago

knowing this makes the division easy

johnr54 profile image

johnr54  says:
2 months ago

I knew that some of these were fruits, but I guess I never thought about cucumbers and zucchini. Live and learn.

naMR  says:
2 months ago

COOL

Sexy jonty profile image

Sexy jonty  says:
6 weeks ago

Very well written hub .....

very much informative ......

Thank you very much for your great hub, for good advice, good wishes and support. Thanks for sharing your experience with all of us.

Panda Bear  says:
4 weeks ago

Great entry :). Fruits also tend to have a higher concentration of fructose than vegetables (since fruits are made to be eaten by animals for seed dispersal as you mentioned). That's why fruits are sweeter than vegetables, in general

I also wrote an article about this : http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2332726/t

glassvisage profile image

glassvisage  says:
4 weeks ago

Thanks everyone, and thanks for the site, Panda Bear!

Coolmon2009 profile image

Coolmon2009  says:
2 weeks ago

Very nice hub. I have been wondering about this topic for a while but never took the time to investigate it. Thank You

starme77 profile image

starme77  says:
2 weeks ago

The age old question of is a tomatoe a fruit or a veggie has been answered!

Choke  says:
10 days ago

This is all lies. Vegetables and Fruits are categorized entirely by sugar content... moron!

glassvisage profile image

glassvisage  says:
8 days ago

Thanks everyone! Choke, I think you're confused... Sugar content is not the way by which fruits and vegetables are differentiated

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