Is the Tomato a Fruit or a Vegetable?

Although we use tomatoes as vegetables, they are actually classified by botanists as fruits because they contain seeds inside their juicy, pulpy tissue. In fact, the tomato is considered to be a berry, much like the strawberry, blackberry, and raspberry.

Aside from tomatoes, several other foods that we usually term vegetables are considered fruits. These include string beans, squash, eggplants, peppers, and cucumbers.

Although the tomato was first grown by the Indians in Central America, it didn’t reach North America until it had first traveled to Europe, and was then brought to Virginia by the colonists!