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What's the difference really?
By definition a fruit is the ripened, swollen ovarian portion of the plant (or flower) containing seeds.
The ovary ripens when the ovules inside have been fertilized. Seeds of flowering plants always are found inside fruits.
And, apparently vegetables are more a term for people to use; vegetables might be roots, leaves, stems or other edible parts of the plant that do not meet the fruit definition. For practical purposes, vegetables are what we think vegetables are, no definition, just dinner table practicality.
The following are excerpts from a web forum:
Botanists generally don't use the word vegetable to mean a plant or even a plant part. The basic parts are roots, stems, leaves flowers/fruit/seeds. Vegetable is a grocery store term: Tomatoes are called vegetables to distinguish them from the sweeter fruits like peaches. Carrots are called vegetables but the part we eat is of course a root. -
There is a difference also when it comes to digestion. Fruit needs different enzymes for digestion as vegetables. That is why you should not combine them in the same meal. Lettuce and parsley, however, can be combined with either, and maybe celery as well.
Cucurbits (pumpkins, squash, zucchini, cucumber, etc.) need enzymes different from the other two groups. -
The difference between fruits and vegetables generally is determined by the vitamin C content, one writer believes. If we use this ruler to determine the difference between a fruit and a vegetable we find that most of the roots and tubers: potatoes, carrots, beets, and many of the above ground fruits such as zucchini, pumpkins, green beans, eggplant can readily be classified as vegetables. Oranges, apples, strawberries, blueberries, and those tomatoes fall in the fruit category.-
The word "fruit" usually describes any fleshy part of a plant that has developed from a flower and has seeds. Vegetables are herbaceous plants. Herbaceous plants have soft stems and little or no woody tissue.-
According to botanists, the part of a plant that carries seeds is its fruit. They divide fruits into three main classes:
1. Fleshy fruits with seeds in the flesh, such as oranges, melons, berries and apples
2. Fruits containing pits or stones, such as cherries, plums and peaches
3. Dry fruits, such as nuts, grains, beans and peas.
Just as there are families of related creatures in the animal kingdom, so many vegetables are related. For example, cabbage, turnips, radishes, broccoli and cauliflower all belong to one family of vegetables?
Lettuce, chicory and artichokes belong to another vegetable family. The gourd family includes cucumbers, melons and pumpkins.
The pea family consists of peas, all kinds of beans, peanuts and soybeans.
Asparagus is related to the common onion, leek, garlic, chive and shallot.
Beets, spinach and Swiss chard all belong to one family.
The nightshade family includes potatoes, eggplants, peppers and tobacco. -
Outside of botany however for the purpose of commerce ... there are legal definitions of what are fruits and vegetables ... some fruits are listed as vegetables by law ... like it or not that is the law and you can get in a lot of hot water selling a fruit as a fruit when it's listed as a vegetable!-
So, there it is, what you need to know about fruits and vegetables. Still confused?
