Posted by Eugene Volokh:
Is the Tomato a Fruit or a Vegetable?
OpinionJournal's Political Diary, commenting on a push to name the
tomato the New Jersey state vegetable, opines that "by scientists at
least, the tomato continues to be regarded as a fruit, not a
vegetable." I've heard lots of others say the same.
I don't think that's quite right; it seems to me that the tomato is
both a fruit and a vegetable. It is indeed, botanically speaking, a
[1]fruit, a term that's technically defined as "The ripened ovary or
ovaries of a seed-bearing plant, together with accessory parts,
containing the seeds and occurring in a wide variety of forms." But
it's also a [2]vegetable, defined as "[t]he edial part of" "[a] plant
cultivated for an edible part, such as the root of the beet, the leaf
of spinach, or the flower buds of broccoli or cauliflower." These are
from the American Heritage Dictionary, not a scientific work, but my
sense is that these are indeed the official definitions.
Now naturally in lay English, the matter is different: Apples aren't
seen as vegetables, and the categories of vegetable and fruit are
generally mutually exclusive. But in lay English, the distinction
isn't ripened ovary vs. not a ripened ovary, but rather dessert vs.
non-dessert, as the Supreme Court astutely captured in an 1873 import
duties case (which OpinionJournal does quote):
Botanically speaking, tomatoes are the fruit of a vine, just as are
cucumbers, squashes, beans, and peas. But in the common language of
the people, whether sellers or consumers of provisions, all these
are vegetables which are grown in kitchen gardens, and which,
whether eaten cooked or raw, are, like potatoes, carrots, parsnips,
turnips, beets, cauliflower, cabbage, celery, and lettuce, usually
served at dinner in, with, or after the soup, fish, or meats which
constitute the principal part of the repast, and not, like fruits
generally, as dessert.
The attempt to class tomatoes as fruit is not unlike a recent
attempt to class beans as seeds, of which Mr. Justice Bradley,
speaking for this court, said: "We do not see why they should be
classified as seeds, any more than walnuts should be so classified.
Both are seeds, in the language of botany or natural history, but
not in commerce nor in common parlance. On the other hand in
speaking generally of provisions, beans may well be included under
the term 'vegetables.' As an article of food on our tables, whether
baked or boiled, or forming the basis of soup, they are used as a
vegetable, as well when ripe as when green. This is the principal
use to which they are put. Beyond the common knowledge which we
have on this subject, very little evidence is necessary, or can be
produced."
References
1. http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=fruit
2. http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=vegetable
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