Quote:
Originally Posted by Solitaire1
How did tomatoes become defacto vegetables? All of the other fruits are treated as something separate from vegetables, yet not tomatoes. Tomatoes are used in a way that puts them in the realm of vegetables.
You hear of spaghetti in tomato sauce, yet you never hear of spaghetti in cherry sauce or orange sauce. In the realm of candy you see all of the fruit flavors represented...except for tomato. No tomato gum, no tomato swedish fish, not even tomato soda.
Could it be in the distant past, when the realms of edibles was being determined, tomatoes were late to the party for the fruit realm and got dumped into the realm of vegetables? Could the tomatoes go on a quest to restore their proper place in the fruit realm? Would the other fruits reject the tomato?
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"Vegetable" is strictly a culinary term that refers to any part of a plant that has a savory taste. "Fruit" on the other hand is used both botanically and culinary, with a very distinct definition for each. In the former it is an organ which contains seeds, while in the latter it is any part of a plant with a sweet taste. These differing definitions result not only in vegetables that are fruits, but also fruits that are not fruits. This illustration demonstrates my meaning:
