People always bring that up and they don't realize it's a flawed argument. "Vegetable" means basically nothing. It's a culinary term. Saying "tomatoes are fruits, not vegetables" is like saying "potatoes are roots, not vegetables". Just like how watermelons and cucumbers are technically berries, but nobody'll ever actually call them one.
Like, sure, maybe you're technically correct, but it's still right to call 'maters a vegetable because that's what everyone agreed to call them and that's really all vegetable mean: A loose list of edible plant parts we all decided to call vegetables.
I.e, if you ask for a fruit and I give you a tomato, are you going to be happy or confused?
Technically the distinction is whether the plant matter in question is generally served as part of something sweet (such as a grape), or something savory (such as a tomato). (Or more precisely if it is "suitable" for a main course - that'd be a vegetable - or an after dinner course - that'd be a fruit.)
It is, of course, arbitrary. Raisins find their way into many main courses, and pineapple on pizza is as widely known as it is contentious. Even an onion - rather decisively a vegetable by the above - can be the core part of a dessert.
88
u/VegetableDependent42 28d ago
Fruit