The common definition of “vegetable” is “an edible plant or part thereof”. A “fruit”, however, is a botanical term that refers to a very specific part of the plant: the seed-bearing ovary. A watermelon is both a fruit (the seed bearing ovary of a plant) and a vegetable (an edible plant).
Why is a watermelon a fruit and a vegetable?
If you talk to a botanist, they’ll maintain that watermelon is a fruit because it develops from the plant’s ovary after flowering and holds the seeds. A vegetable is anything eaten from other parts of a plant, like spinach leaves or carrots (which are roots).
Why is a pumpkin a fruit and not a vegetable?
A pumpkin, from a botanist’s perspective, is a fruit because it’s a product of the seed-bearing structure of flowering plants. Vegetables, on the other hand, are the edible portion of plants such as leaves, stems, roots, bullbs, flowers, and tubers.
Cucumber, melon, and watermelon are originally from the Old World (primarily Africa and Asia). Although they are in the same family (Cucurbitaceae) with the squashes, pumpkins, and gourds (mostly of the genus Cucurbita ), they are only distantly related.
Is a pumpkin a fruit or a vegetable explain why?
The answer may surprise you! A pumpkin is, in fact, a fruit. According to expert Joe Masabni, Ph. D., Texas A&M Agri Life Extension Service vegetable specialist in Dallas, scientifically speaking, a pumpkin is a fruit simply because anything that starts from a flower is botanically a fruit.
What fruit is actually a vegetable?
This category includes items many consider to be vegetables, including squash, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, eggplant and avocados. Yes, pumpkins are a fruit! Peas and beans are a bit trickier, because if you just eat what’s inside the pod, you’re eating the seed.
What defines a vegetable and a fruit?
Botanically, fruits and vegetables are classified depending on which part of the plant they come from. A fruit develops from the flower of a plant, while the other parts of the plant are categorized as vegetables. Fruits contain seeds, while vegetables can consist of roots, stems and leaves.
What fruit is mistaken for a vegetable?
Fruits commonly mistaken as vegetables: Tomatoes, Peppers, Beans, Peapods, Avocado, Squash, Zucchini, Cucumbers, Olives, Corn Kernels, Pumpkins & Nuts. Another thing I couldn’t believe made the fruit list are nuts. Nuts are technically a fruit that is made up of a hard shell and a seed.
Is a potato a vegetable?
In a nutshell, there is no doubt that a potato is botanically a vegetable. Although not your usual leafy green, it’s still packed with vital nutrients that are necessities for a balanced diet. Check out some of our potato based recipes for some meal inspiration or our potato waffles range for an extra treat!
Is a pickle a fruit?
Pickles are technically fruits, but they are also vegetables and berries. Cucumbers, which develop from a flower and have seeds but no pit, are used to make pickles. They are a vegetable, fruit, and berry all at once, according to botany.
What family is watermelon in?
watermelon, (Citrullus lanatus), succulent fruit and vinelike plant of the gourd family (Cucurbitaceae), native to tropical Africa and cultivated around the world. The fruit contains vitamin A and some vitamin C and is usually eaten raw.
Is a pumpkin a melon?
The Melon Family, Cucurbitaceae, is a plant family commonly known as melons, gourds or cucurbits and includes crops like cucumbers, squashes (including pumpkins), luffas, melons (including watermelons).
Why do cucumbers taste like watermelon?
Plus, sharp-nosed people can tell that – depending on the variety – cucumbers already have a mild melon-like smell and taste. This comes from compounds called aldehydes. There’s a particular aldehyde called trans,cis-2,6-nonadienal that’s found in both cucumbers and melon, and this could be the crucial component.
Is the potato a fruit?
Potatoes are tubers, which are a sort of root vegetable. They aren’t the potato plant’s roots themselves, but rather the roots that they grow from. Potatoes are absolutely edible, and they’re virtually always used in savoury meals, whether with or without meat. Potatoes, on the other hand, are not fruits.
What makes a vegetable a vegetable?
Vegetable, the edible product of a herbaceous plant-that is, a plant with a soft stem, as distinguished from the edible nuts and fruits produced by plants with woody stems such as shrubs and trees.
Is a cucumber a fruit?
The botanical classification: Cucumbers are fruit.
A botanical fruit would have at least one seed and grow from the flower of the plant. With this definition in mind, cucumbers are classified as fruit because they contain tiny seeds in the middle and grow from the flower of the cucumber plant.
Is anything actually a vegetable?
According to botanists, there is no such thing as a vegetable. Wolfgang Stuppy, a research leader in comparative plant and fungal biology at the U.K.’s world-renowned Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew & Wakehurst Place, told the BBC, “The term vegetable doesn’t exist in botanical terminology.”
Is the strawberry a vegetable?
Is a strawberry a vegetable? Vegetables are the edible leaves, stalks, and stems of plants — with the exception of parts that belongs to the plant’s reproductive system. Though the strawberry receptacle is part of the stem, it also holds the plant’s ovaries. So, strawberries are not vegetables.
What fruits are not actually fruits?
Avocadoes, string beans, squash, eggplant, green pepper and okra are all technically fruits, Litt says. On the other hand, rhubarb is not a fruit.
Can something be a fruit and a vegetable?
Tomatoes are both a vegetable and a fruit.
Why is a tomato a fruit and not a cucumber?
To a botanist, a fruit is an entity that develops from the fertilized ovary of a flower. This means that tomatoes, squash, pumpkins, cucumbers, peppers, eggplants, corn kernels, and bean and pea pods are all fruits; so are apples, pears, peaches, apricots, melons and mangos.
Gerardo Gonzalez loves cooking. He became interested in it at a young age, and has been honing his skills ever since. He enjoys experimenting with new recipes, and is always looking for ways to improve his technique.
Gerardo’s friends and family are the lucky beneficiaries of his delicious cooking. They always enjoy trying out his latest creations, and often give him feedback on how he can make them even better. Gerardo takes their input to heart, and uses it to continue refining his culinary skills.