M5 Fruit or Vegetable Content Discussion- Please give your opinion and cited work

Botanically, a fruit is a seed-bearing structure that develops from the ovary of a flowering plant, vegetables are all other plant parts, such as roots, leaves and stems.

 

Peapods are one of the most common fruit that are mistakenly labelled as vegetables.  I always thought a pea was a veggie, but when you think about the ways in which a fruit/veggie is labeled. We grow pea plants from a dried pea which is the seed, so they have to be a fruit.

 

Olives, aubergines and butternut squash also belong to the fruit family.  A tomato is always being debated as to fruit/veggie, but there are a lot of other fruits out there that are mistaken for veggies.  Some that my kids often question is the cucumber, pumpkin, avocado, and the pepper.  I had to think about the pepper for a while but botanically they are a fruit.  I use pepper mainly for seasoning foods that I cook.  I do not eat raw peppers.

 

I am often confused by the rhubarb, I never had it, I was told it is not that great.  But I always assume it was a fruit, because it is used in peas so often, but botanically it is a vegetable.

 

Only recently I was reading an article written by the Mayo clinic about eating more fruits and veggies. From a culinary standpoint, vegetables are less sweet, and served as part of the main dish. Fruits are more sweet and tart and are most often served as a dessert or snack. “Both fruits and vegetables can be made into juice for a refreshing beverage. Some fruits are "grains" or "nuts" or "seeds" and are served accordingly.

 

http://www.livescience.com/

 

http://www.mayoclinic.org/

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