To-mah-to Tip of the Day
Are tomatoes a fruit or a vegetable? Turns out, it depends who you ask.
Botanically, they are a fruit. By definition, a fruit is the ripened ovary, together with the seeds, of a flowering plant. Tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, squash and pumpkins, therefore, are all fruits.
However, culinarily, they are a vegetable. In cooking terminology, vegetables can be used as part of a main dish, whereas fruits are used for side dishes or desserts. True, there are exceptions, but any chef worth his salt (ha!) knows that you wouldn't put tomatoes in a fruit salad.
As a result, tomatoes are legally considered a vegetable. In the 1800s, the United States had tariffs on imported vegetables, and farmers wanted to know whether tomatoes would incur a tariff or not. In 1887, the Supreme Court ruled that fruits and vegetables should be classified by usage, following the culinary definition, and that tomatoes were therefore legally a vegetable.
So now you know.
Botanically, they are a fruit. By definition, a fruit is the ripened ovary, together with the seeds, of a flowering plant. Tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, squash and pumpkins, therefore, are all fruits.
However, culinarily, they are a vegetable. In cooking terminology, vegetables can be used as part of a main dish, whereas fruits are used for side dishes or desserts. True, there are exceptions, but any chef worth his salt (ha!) knows that you wouldn't put tomatoes in a fruit salad.
As a result, tomatoes are legally considered a vegetable. In the 1800s, the United States had tariffs on imported vegetables, and farmers wanted to know whether tomatoes would incur a tariff or not. In 1887, the Supreme Court ruled that fruits and vegetables should be classified by usage, following the culinary definition, and that tomatoes were therefore legally a vegetable.
So now you know.
Comments
and by "my muse" I clearly mean "the maniacal voices in my head" and by "mouthpiece" I clearly mean "iron fist of judgment"