How come everyone knows tomato is a fruit, but they all assume pepper, cucumber, courgette, aubergine, &c are vegetables?

[HippieVeganJewslim]

Even Dr Sheldon Cooper, PhD, a bloody genius at several natural sciences, once called a cucumber a vegetable in The Big Bang Theory.

Updates

+1 y

What puts a tomato into a different category than other fruity ‘vegetables’?

[PBandJ_Nerd]

Because vegetables is just a human thing. In plant biology everything is a fruit.

[HippieVeganJewslim]

A leaf of lettuce is a vegetable, actually. I’m asking what makes tomato different from other fruity ‘vegetables.’

[PBandJ_Nerd]

I think some consider it a fruit because of some being sweet tasting. But I've heard tomatoes are both a veggie and a fruit.

[HippieVeganJewslim]

Nu, my horticulture teacher says it’s both, just as apple is both. Vegetable is, according to her, any edible plant matter. Fruit is an ovary of a plant.

[Anonymous]

Tomato is actually a fruiting vegetable: https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/vegetable/guides/the-crops-of-texas/fruiting-vegetables/

[Opinion Owner]

Thanks for the MHO

[EricSummer]

From a culinary point of view they are vegetables. The botanical way of naming parts of plants is not the only one.

[HippieVeganJewslim]

What puts a tomato into a different category than other fruity ‘vegetables’?

[EricSummer]

The usual culinary classification is "vegetable" also for a tomato.

However, cooking is not a science so there may be a debate. Based on sugar content you could argue towards fruit.

[purplepoppy]

Intelligence is knowing a cucumbers a fruit, wisdom is not putting it in the fruit bowl

[HippieVeganJewslim]

I beg to differ. Is guacamole a salad? Whether it is or not, it’s fine to make a salad in a fruit bowl with cucumbers, avo, tomatoes, lemon juice, peppers, &c.

[Christoff92]

Because it's a sweet version to a vegetable.

[HippieVeganJewslim]

That’s a very sweet answer!