A question many people have asked themselves and others. Is tomato a fruit or a vegetable? Now we would expect for there to be one answer, but some questions don’t just have one answer.
Scientifically, tomato is a fruit. The reason is quite simple. Tomatoes have seeds inside and only fruits contain their own seeds. Tomatoes are also developed in the part of the plant that makes it technically a fruit. The ovary located in the base of the flower produces fruit. Fruits, majority of the time contain its own seeds to plant and grow more fruit. I say most of the time because there are some seedless forms of fruit.
Tomatoes have lots of amazing health benefits.
Fruits such as berries, melons, oranges, and even some nuts contain their own seeds inside that will reproduce the same exact kind of fruit plant.
Now despite this scientific evidence there are people out there that irrefutably will refer to a tomato as a vegetable. No matter what they know about tomatoes, it will still always be a vegetable.
Even most grocery stores refer to tomatoes as a vegetable. The grocery stores will group tomatoes together with other vegetables on advertisements, in store, and even online via your grocery store’s website.
There was even this one time, I was checking out at my local grocery store. I had grabbed a couple of roma tomatoes because I literally use tomatoes for everything from hamburgers to eggs in the morning. Either way, I decided to check out from my grocery store’s self-check out stations so when I scanned them I had to look up the right produce number. Well low and behold, they had them categorized under the vegetables category. Although this isn’t surprising at all.
The intent of this example is to make you feel better if you, like a lot of others, refer to a tomato as a vegetable.
If I had to guess, the biggest reason why most of us refer to tomatoes as vegetables is because of the taste. Tomatoes are used in more savory dishes than it is in sweet. There are a few tomato desserts I came across when pondering this question.
But first, here is a list of savory dishes to use these sweet, red, and delicious delights in.
- chili
- tacos
- soups
- stews
- salsa
- dips
These are just to name a few, like I said before I use tomatoes on so many of different things. Tomato has such a unique taste, that they easily compliment many different dishes. I love a nice slice of tomato on my sandwiches, eggs, and fish.
During my search for sweet desserts to use this fruit or vegetable in, I came across a surprising recipe. I had never in all my years heard of tomato cake. Even my husband, who knows everything there is to know about everything, had not heard of a tomato cake.
I found the recipe for tomato cake on Yummly. This is something I am willing to try. I had never thought of using tomatoes in something as sugary sweet as cake.
Here is also a neat recipe for green tomato pie. The recipe calls for mixing up some green tomatoes with brown sugar, white sugar, and cinnamon. This so reminds me of making apple pie.
If looking to make some tasty creamy tomato soup, this recipe would certainly help.
So, after all this research, that one question remains. Is tomato a fruit or a vegetable?
The answer is variable. The answer is very much dependent on we use it. Scientifically a tomato is technically a fruit, but taste wise it is very much a vegetable.
After reading this article, what do you think? For me, it will always be a vegetable even though I know it is a fruit.
The sweeter it is the more delicious it can be. One of the sweetest tomatoes grown is called sun sugar. It is unusually sweeter than any other cherry tomato.
Tomatoes can taste different depending on variety of the fruit. The Lemon Boy is a sweet tomato with a tangy taste. The tangy taste is not too over powering, it is on the milder side.
The Black Krim tomato pairs well with those savory dishes because its taste is on the salter side which sounds tasty.
And finally, the oxheart is an almost meaty tomato with little to no seeds inside which some tomato lovers prefer.
Since this fruit can be used together with a variety of different foods, it should be in a category all its own which makes it that much more unique. What are some of your favorite dishes to use tomatoes in?
Conclusion
This article contains researched information on what makes tomatoes a fruit and ponders the question if it is indeed a vegetable. Tomato is generally categorized as a vegetable. Our own grocery stores categorize them as a vegetable, so this article talks about how tomatoes are viewed among others in our society.
The article also discusses a possible theory on how they are typically viewed regarding taste. As well as finding out if tomatoes can be associated with desserts rather than with just a savory dish.
The fact that tomatoes are so versatile when it comes to food puts them in a category of their own in the food world.
Have fun trying out these tasty dessert ideas that incorporate tomatoes. It should be interesting to try indeed.
