Fruit vs Vegetable: What Is the Real Difference?
To a botanist, a fruit is the part of a plant that grows from a flower and holds its seeds. Vegetable is not a science word at all: it is a cooking word for other plant parts we eat, such as roots, leaves and stems. That is why a bean pod, a tomato and a cucumber are all fruits.
Fruit vs vegetable at a glance
| Fruit | Vegetable | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Science word: the ripened part of a flower that holds seeds | Cooking word: other edible plant parts, usually savoury |
| Contains seeds | Yes, almost always | Usually not |
| Grows from | The flower | Roots, leaves, stems or flower buds |
| Examples | Apple, orange, cherry, and also tomato, cucumber, pepper and bean pod | Carrot (root), lettuce (leaf), celery (stem), broccoli (flower buds), potato (underground stem) |
| Taste in cooking | Often sweet, but not always | Usually savoury |
From flower to fruit
In the 3D apple tree you can follow a blossom to an apple. After a bee brings pollen, the flower is fertilised, the petals fall and the part around the seeds swells into the fruit. A bean does exactly the same: the pod grows from the flower and the beans inside are its seeds. So the pod is a fruit, even though we cook it as a vegetable.
Why cooks disagree
Kitchens sort food by taste and use. Sweet fruits end up in puddings and savoury ones in main meals, so tomatoes, peppers and courgettes are treated as vegetables. In 1893 the US Supreme Court even ruled that tomatoes count as vegetables for import taxes, while agreeing that botanically they are fruits.
Quick facts
- Peas, sweetcorn kernels, pumpkins and aubergines are all fruits to a botanist.
- Rhubarb is a stalk, so botanically it is a vegetable, even though we cook it like a fruit.
- Bananas are berries, but strawberries are not.
- Nuts such as acorns are fruits too.
- A potato is a swollen underground stem, not a root.
See inside in 3D
Fruit vs vegetable questions
What is the difference between a fruit and a vegetable?
A fruit is the part of a plant that grows from a flower and contains seeds. Vegetable is a cooking word for other edible parts such as roots, leaves and stems.
Is a tomato a fruit or a vegetable?
Botanically it is a fruit, because it grows from a flower and holds seeds. In cooking it is usually treated as a vegetable.
Is a bean a fruit?
The bean pod is a fruit and the beans inside are seeds. We cook them as vegetables.
Is a cucumber a fruit?
Yes, botanically. It grows from a flower and has seeds inside.
Is a carrot a fruit or vegetable?
A vegetable. It is a root, not a part that grows from a flower.
More face-offs: see all 3D comparisons.
The 3D Plant Anatomy simulator is made by Julian Neagu, a solo founder in London, as part of VisionVix Simulators. It is free to use in the browser on desktop and phone, with no sign-up.