Food and Nutrition | Is The Tomato A Fruit Or A Vegetable?
Is the tomato a fruit or a vegetable?
Botanists (scientists who study plants) classify the tomato (Lycopericon esculentum) technically as a berry, which in a scientific sense, is a simple fruit. But horticulturists (people who cultivate plants) and the United States Department of Agriculture, in its bulletins and reports, classify the tomato as a vegetable.
On May 10, 1893, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the tomato is a vegetable and, as such, is subject to import taxes under the United States Tariff Act of 1883. The Tariff Act imposed taxes on imported vegetables but not on fruits.
Sources: Herbst, Sharon X The New Food Lover's Companion: Comprehensive Definitions of Over 4000 Food, Wine, and Culinary Terms, p. 592; Stimpson, George. Information Roundup, p. 210.
[The entire page is 140 words long]
Navigate
