You’ve probably bumped into that guy at a party who loves to remind you that tomatoes are a fruit, not a vegetable. Heck, if you’re a fan of this blog, there’s a good chance you are that guy. Well now you can bring your A-game with this less commonly known identity crises; the bell pepper (aka: green pepper, red pepper, etc.), the cucumber, and green beans… all fruits.
The rule of thumb for sorting fruits from vegetables is pretty easy. Does it have seeds? Then it’s pretty much a fruit. Technically the “fruit” is really the fleshy part of the plant that contains or otherwise holds the seed. (usually on the inside, but a strawberry fruit has seeds on the outside)
On the other hand, a vegetable is defined a little more loosely and generally refers to an edible part of a plant, be it a leaf (lettuce), a stalk (celery), or a root (carrot).
Gee, I bet you can’t wait till your next dinner party!
Attila Beres says
April 12, 2013 at 4:10 amFor a broader, more intelligent and synthesizing viewpoint posted by Baloo55th: "To answer accurately, one needs to know the context.
Otherwise, the use of different jargons in English can lead to dogmatic answers that are only correct in one context. In scientific (botanical) jargon, peppers are fruits. In culinary jargon, they are vegetables. Same with tomatoes, eggplants and okra. Neither use is incorrect in the proper context. (Another example of the difference between scientific jargon and more common English is steam. To the scientist, it's a colourless hot gas. To the layman, it's a whitish vapour that may be hot or not. This is the original meaning – but in context both are correct.)"
Gee, I bet you can`t wait to take your game to the next level!
lisa says
November 20, 2014 at 6:59 pmNice article guys I finally prove to my sister that bell pepers are fruits she is wrong for the very first time once again thanks guys you awesome