Tomatoes – The Classic Confusion
Let’s start with the most famous case that’s fooled people for ages. In 1893, the US Supreme Court actually ruled that tomatoes should be classified as vegetables rather than fruits under US customs regulations. Yet tomatoes are botanically classified as a fruit and a berry.
Tomatoes develop from the flower of the tomato plant and contain seeds, fitting the botanical definition of a fruit. Their savory flavor leads to their culinary use as vegetables. Think about it – when you slice open a tomato, you see those little seeds swimming around inside. The botanical term true berry includes grapes, currants, cucumbers, eggplants (aubergines), tomatoes, chili peppers, and bananas.
Cucumbers – More Than Just Water
The cucumber plant is part of the gourd family. The part that people eat (and turn into pickles) is the fruit of the plant. So while you might not think of a cucumber salad as a kind of fruit salad, cucumbers do fit the technical definition of a fruit.
This crunchy green veggie actually belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family along with watermelon and cantaloupe. When you think about watermelons being fruits, cucumbers start making more sense. The crunchy, green veggie fruit grows from the flower of the cucumber plant and houses seeds inside. Those tiny seeds you sometimes notice while eating a cucumber are proof of its true identity.
Avocados – The Creamy Surprise
Here’s one that’ll blow your mind. Since the endocarp is thin, an avocado is also technically a berry. Yes, that creamy green thing you put on toast is actually a berry, botanically speaking.
An avocado is a fruit comprising a three-layer pericarp that surrounds its single seed. That pericarp is made of the exocarp (the peel or rind), the mesocarp (the edible flesh), and the endocarp (a sometimes imperceptible layer that protects the seed). Since the endocarp is thin, an avocado is also technically a berry. This group encompasses apricots, mangoes, cherries, olives, dates and most nuts as drupes, but the thin endocarp makes avocados special.
Bell Peppers – The Colorful Truth
Whether you’re talking sweet bell peppers or super-spicy poblanos, all peppers are considered fruit – no matter how spicy they are! You can tell by the tiny seeds that grow in the middle and the fact that peppers grow from small white, purple, and yellow flowers.
No matter whether it’s a chilli or bell pepper, peppers are very botanically similar to tomatoes. They hold clusters of seeds and grow from vines on leafy plants, too. Peppers are all capsicums – berries with a hollow interior that contains its seeds. The fact that we use them in savory dishes doesn’t change their biological reality.
Eggplants – The Purple Berries
This might sound crazy, but eggplants are technically classified as a berry. Eggplants form from the flowering part of the plant and contain numerous seeds inside their flesh.
The eggplant belongs to the Solanaceae family, sometimes called the “potato family” or “deadly nightshade family,” since potato and nightshade plants also fall under its umbrella. But while potatoes are tubers – and therefore true vegetables – eggplants are seed-bearing fleshy fruits that grow from the flowers of the Solanum melongena plant. It’s wild how something so meaty and substantial is actually in the same category as grapes.
Corn – The Surprising Grain-Fruit
Corn might seem like a vegetable when you’re eating it on the cob or using it to make Ree’s hot corn dip, but it’s actually a fruit! Each kernel on a corn cob is technically a seed, and the whole cob develops from the flower of the corn plant.
Corn is both a grain and a fruit. Each corn kernel is an ovary that contains a single seed. Since the ovary wall is directly fused to the layer surrounding that seed, it lacks the fleshy middle and dries out easily. These fruits are known as caryopses, or grains. So, yes, a fruit can also be a grain. This double identity makes corn pretty unique in the plant world.
Green Beans – Pod Fruits in Disguise
Although a bean pod may be the last thing to enter a fruit basket, string beans fit the botanical definition of fruit as they contain seeds inside their pods. Just like other fruits, the part that’s eaten is the mature ovary of the flower, which holds the seeds.
Green beans are a type of legume or Fabaceae plant. They emerge from a pink or white flower and hang in small groups. Each green bean is harvested as an immature pod. Left to grow instead, it will create seeds inside. Being the pod itself makes a green bean a ‘true’ fruit, unlike a chickpea or other bean which is simply the seed inside a legume’s pod.
Squash and Zucchini – The Gourd Family Fruits
Pumpkins also join the botanically classified fruit club! Like the other fruits on this list, pumpkins have rinds, seeds, and fleshy interiors that lend well to baked goods, like pumpkin pie and pumpkin bread. But it’s not just pumpkins – all squash are fruits.
Another type of squash with a hidden botanical identity is the zucchini! Although we stir-fry, stuff, and even fry them in savory dishes, zucchini is considered a fruit. You may or may not have guessed this due to it growing from a zucchini flower (which is fried and eaten in Italian cuisine). In fact, many types of squash, including acorn and butternut squash, are also considered to be fruits.
Okra – The Star-Shaped Secret
Okra is the seed-filled fruit of Abelmoschus esculentus, a flowering plant in the Malvaceae family (or mallow family). Okra is a member of the Malvaceae, or mallow family – along with cotton, cacao and durian plants. Each okra grows upwards out of a stunning cream and purple-coloured flower and is filled with tiny seeds.
When you cut open that green pod, you’ll see those characteristic seeds arranged in perfect rows. Okra is one of the most nutritious fruits out there, packed with fiber, potassium, and vitamin C. The slimy texture that some people love or hate comes from the fruit’s natural attempt to protect its seeds.
Olives – The Ancient Drupes
You probably don’t think of olives as a fruit, but that’s exactly what they are. Specifically, they’re considered a stone fruit, like peaches, mangoes, and dates. Olives, meanwhile, are drupes – and therefore, fruit. If you crack open the pit, you’ll see the actual seed of the olive tree, or Olea europaea.
Olive fruit is pressed for olive oil and similar processing is applied to other oil-bearing fruits and vegetables. That pit you have to be careful not to bite down on? That’s the hardened endocarp protecting the seed inside. The flesh of the olive is what we eat, and it develops from the flower of the olive tree just like any other fruit.
The Science Behind The Confusion
The distinction between botanical and culinary definitions often causes confusion. Botanically, a fruit is defined by its origin as a mature ovary containing seeds, based on anatomical structure and developmental biology. In contrast, culinary definitions are based on flavor, texture, and how a plant part is typically used in meals.
Culinary classifications depend on taste and how the food is used in cooking. Fruits are often sweet or tart and used in desserts, snacks, or salads. Vegetables are more likely to be savory and form the basis of main dishes, soups, and sides. This explains why so many botanical fruits end up in the vegetable section of our grocery stores. In contrast, rhubarb is often called a fruit when used in making pies, but the edible produce of rhubarb is actually the leaf stalk or petiole of the plant.
