Vegetables and fruits differences. How fruits differ from vegetables: benefits and differences. Fruit - the juicy fruit of a tree or shrub
We all use vegetables every day for cooking, eat fruits, but very rarely think about the difference between fruits and vegetables.
What is the difference between fruits and vegetables
"Fruit" is usually called any fruit, consisting of pulp and seeds, and formed from the ovary of a flower.
Vegetables are the edible part of the plant. They can be made up of leaves (lettuce), stems (celery), roots (carrots), bulbs (onions), and even flowers (broccoli).
And if it’s simple, then from the point of view of botany, a fruit, what with seeds (pits), and a vegetable without.
The difference between fruits and vegetables
- Fruits are the fruits of a plant, while vegetables are any part of it;
- Fruits necessarily contain seeds that are subsequently able to germinate and give life to a new plant, and vegetables are a part of a plant that is not capable of reproducing its own kind;
- Fruits grow on plants that have both hard and soft stems, as for vegetables, they are part of plants that are only herbaceous.
Fruits are divided into three main classes:
- fleshy fruits with seeds, such as oranges, melons, berries and apples;
- stone fruits such as cherries, plums, peaches;
- dry fruits such as nuts, cereals, beans and peas.
If it surprises you that botanists consider beans and peas to be fruits (because they contain seeds), then you will be even more surprised to learn that cucumbers and squash are also called fruits. It depends on how seriously we want to take this field of knowledge. In addition, in different parts of the world there are different traditions: the same edible part of the plant is considered a fruit in one place and a vegetable in another.
Just like in animals, there are families in the plant world. Did you know that cabbages, turnips, radishes, asparagus, and cauliflower, for example, all belong to the same family of vegetables?
Lettuce, chicory, and artichoke belong to a different family of vegetables. The gourd family includes cucumbers, melons, and pumpkins. The legume family includes peas, all types of beans, peanuts and soybeans.
It seems that we all know which fruits are fruits or berries, but not everything is so simple.
We have been hearing for a long time that watermelon and tomato are berries, but it still surprises us. They also say that carrots are fruits...
Let's see what's different fruit from berries and vegetables.
Fruit- this is edible fruit of any tree or shrub.
The function of the fruit is seed conservation, which contribute to the spread of flowering plants, i.e. Seeds are a way for plants to propagate. Then, eggplants, cucumbers, corn and peas are fruits!?
Vegetables are the edible part of the plant. These can be leaves (lettuce), stems (celery), roots (carrots), bulbs (onions), and even flowers (broccoli).
Market in Barcelona 
It's believed that fruit should be sweet, which means that all unsweetened fruits should be classified as vegetables. But, after all, even an ordinary tomato, which many consider a vegetable, is actually a fruit, a berry! Even pumpkins and zucchini, from a formal point of view, belong to fruits.
Conclusions:
1) According to dictionary definitions, fruit- these are the edible fruits of a tree or shrub that serve to propagate plants, in contrast to vegetables, which are the edible part of the plant.
2) The basis of the general judgment that tomatoes, cucumbers, etc. are vegetables is that they are herbaceous plants, not trees.
3) To determine the type of fetus you need to follow a simple rule:
if the fruit has seeds, then you have a fruit, and if not, then a vegetable. 
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A little more about the fruits and their types
FETUS(Latin fructus, Greek καρπός) - the final stage of flower development, the generative organ of angiosperms, which serves to form, protect and distribute the seeds enclosed in it.
The science that studies fruits is called carpology.
Fruit classification
simple fruits divided according to the consistency of the pericarp into dry and juicy.
I. Dry fruits
bean(family Legumes); nut, nut (hazel, hazelnut); weevil(cereals); acorn(oak);
achene(sunflower) and others.
II. Juicy fruits- with juicy pericarp
1. Berry - multi-seeded:
Berry(fruit of blueberries, currants, tomatoes, grapes);
berries called fruits with a thin shell, juicy middle, usually with several dense seeds inside. 
Apple- (lat. pomum) - a juicy multi-seeded fruit (apple, pear, hawthorn, mountain ash). Not only the ovary takes part in its formation. 
pumpkin- a multi-seeded fruit of plants, characteristic of representatives of the Pumpkin family (for pumpkin, watermelon, melon, zucchini, cucumber). The fruit is morphologically related to the berry, but differs from it in the greater number of seeds and the structure of the pericarp.
Hesperidius, or orange(citrus fruit); 
grenade(fruit of pomegranate).
2. Kostyankovidnye:
Juicy drupe(cherries, plums, peaches);
3.Prefabricated fruits, or complex fruits, or apocarps.
An example of prefabricated fruits: hard nut, or a multi-nut ( rose hip), compound achene (Strawberry, strawberry) compound drupe (raspberry).
In everyday life they call it a berry any small pulpy fruit (regardless of its botanical classification), such as currant, gooseberry (berry), strawberry, wild strawberry, wild rose (false berry), cherry, sweet cherry, raspberry (drupe). 
Raspberry- this is a prefabricated drupe, that is, a lot of fruits growing together, each of which is arranged in the same way as the fruits of a plum or apricot.
strawberries- this is a combined achene, i.e. a lot of fruits arranged in the same way as sunflower fruits; what is called in everyday life strawberry, from the point of view of biology is a juicy overgrown receptacle.
At the same time, fruits of large size in everyday life are not associated with berries (even if from a botanical point of view they are), for example, tomato, eggplant, banana, kiwi.
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On the farm, edible plants are divided into fruits, berries, vegetables, nuts, grains.
Fruits and berries
« Fruit"- the term is not botanical, but household and economic.
Fruit(lat. fructus - fruit) - juicy edible fruit a tree or shrub that contains one or more plant seeds.
Berry also a juicy fruit. . 
In some languages, the concept fruit” is not distinguished from the concept of “fetus”.
In the Old Russian language, the words " fruit"did not exist, it appeared only in 1705, before any fruits were called vegetables (vegetables).
The word “fruit” came to us from the German language: Frucht (from the Latin fructus - fruit), as in the old days they called “tree fruits”, for example, apples and pears. 
Vegetables(the word exists only in “domestic” use) is any part of a plant suitable for food: a root crop, leaf, fruit, tuber, bulb or stem. Some sources may refer to vegetable plants and certain types of mushrooms, such as champignons. 
vegetable plants there are more than 1200 species.
Fruits and berries commonly used as food dessert, a vegetables intended for other dishes.
Everything seems to be clear: fruits grow on trees, and vegetables grow on beds. But according to the scientific definition, peppers, and beans, and tomatoes, cucumbers, and zucchini can also be considered fruits. 
And the explanation for all this confusion is: just to demarcate scientific definitions of fruits and vegetables household, culinary. For example, from the chef's point of view, tomato- no doubt a vegetable. But the botanist will not agree with this statement. By the way, Italians consider tomatoes to be fruits: pomo d "oro is translated from Italian as "golden apple".
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In ordinary Russian no one will call the fruits of a pear or mountain ash apples: the fruits of a pear and apple trees are fruits, and the fruits of mountain ash are berries. Berries are also called "combined fruits" of raspberries and strawberries.
Conversely, tomatoes or cucumbers and oranges are not called berries in everyday speech: tomatoes and cucumbers are vegetables, and oranges are fruits.
The distinction between fruits and berries in the "naive", everyday classification is based on several features.
The fruit differs from the berry mainly in size, in the process of eating, they do not put it entirely in the mouth and do not take it with two fingers. When a man eats a fruit, he takes a bite of it; when he eats berries, he puts the whole berry in his mouth. In addition, in the "naive" mind, the idea is alive that fruits grow on trees, and berries - on bushes or herbaceous plants. 
In everyday language there is ambiguity: the same word denotes both the plant itself and the part of this plant used by humans, this applies to vegetables, fruits, and berries. Most explanatory dictionaries indicate the meaning of ‘plant’ as the first meaning, and ‘part of this plant’ as the second meaning.
Berry- is a variety fetus and this scientific term, like fetus. While vegetables and fruits- this is not biological, but domestic terms.
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There is another unexpected side of the issue.
interesting to note the fact that in 1893 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that tomatoes should be considered vegetables for customs purposes. Although the judge acknowledged that botanically, tomatoes, as well as cucumbers, pumpkins, peas and beans are fruits, but in everyday life they are consumed as vegetables (they are eaten for lunch with main courses, and not for dessert, like fruits).
But in 2001 (or in 1991) European Union decided that tomatoes, as well as cucumbers, pumpkins, melons and watermelons, belong to fruits. And carrots!
Carrot Is it a fruit or a vegetable?
Since childhood, we have known that carrots are vegetables. However, back in 1991, the European Union adopted a special resolution, according to which carrots became ... fruit!
The "guilty" of this change was the Portuguese. They are very fond of carrot jam, which they eat themselves and export throughout Europe.
And according to European laws, jams and jams can only be cooked from fruits.
But change the law European Union in terms of lifting the ban on the production and sale vegetable jams It turned out to be more difficult than changing the worldview of people. So the root crop began to be called not only a vegetable.
Even more paradoxical "gifts of nature" fell under the directive of the EU Council in 2001. They began to call fruits also - pumpkin, watermelon, sweet potato, cucumber, melon, tomato and even ginger.
This allows the Portuguese to continue making and exporting carrot jam, because, according to European standards, jam is made only from fruits.
Denoting carrot like a fruit, the countries of the world that are part of European Union, (founded in 1952), can legally produce and export jam, marmalade from it. According to this provision, tomatoes, edible parts of rhubarb stem, carrots, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, pumpkin, melon, watermelon, ginger are also fruits!
Vegetable jam?!
Fruit preserves, jams and marmalades are equal to jams, jams and marmalades made from such products as: Tomatoes, carrots, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, watermelons, pumpkins…
Well, now everything seems to be clear.
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In conclusion, a couple of funny fruit and vegetable pictures
J. Arcimboldo Portrait of Emperor Rudolf II 
This is a portrait of the emperor, in the form of the ancient Roman god of the seasons Vertumna. The portrait consists of fruits, flowers and vegetables. Each fruit has its own qualities, and all together, like different character traits, they add up to an image.
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Vegetables and fruits are the most valuable sources of nutrients, trace elements, vitamins and fiber. They, along with grains, legumes and some protein foods, should form the basis of our diet. Contrary to popular belief, a diet consisting primarily of fruits and vegetables can be quite varied (but not complete!). Moreover, each individual group is characterized by certain properties, composition, taste, peculiarities of cultivation and use.
The classification of vegetables and fruits, which we will consider in this article, will show the whole variety of these products and highlight their most significant distinguishing features.
What are vegetables and fruits?
Before classifying these groups, you need to understand what exactly is at stake. It would seem that there is nothing complicated here. Vegetables grow in the garden and are used to prepare basic (savory) dishes. Fruits are rather a dessert, sweetness, and they grow on a tree (that's why they are called "fruits" in another way). Indeed, we have identified the main differences. But there are exceptions.
So, pepper grows from the ovary of a flower. But this is a clear sign of belonging to the fruit. The scientific definition allows you to include cucumbers, and even bean pods! Since ancient times, the succulent parts of herbaceous plants have been called vegetables. To avoid confusion, we will distinguish between two classifications - scientific and culinary. Thus, if the proposed classification of vegetables and fruits diverges from your usual idea, do not be surprised. Just look at it through the eyes of a nerd, not a cook.
Vegetables
Let's start with the fact that vegetables (like fruits) belong to the group of "succulent crops", which is what distinguishes them from grains, beans and other plant products. Despite their saturation with moisture (up to 80-90% or more), vegetables are rich in valuable nutrients. The large variety of elements (carbon, nitrogen, mineral salts, etc.) and their dilution make these products easy for the human body to assimilate. And this is very important when it comes to rational and nutritious nutrition.
Vegetables: what are
A number of features allow us to divide all vegetables into two large groups: vegetative and generative. In the latter, fruits (inflorescences) are used for food, in the former, vegetative organs. Consider what kind of classification of vegetables. The table below will help us with this.
| Vegetative group of vegetables | Names of vegetables |
| tubers | Potato, sweet potato, Jerusalem artichoke |
| Roots | Carrots, radishes, turnips, beets, celery, etc. |
| leafy | Alliums (onions and garlic) |
| Cabbage (except broccoli, cauliflower and kohlrabi) | |
| Salad-spinach (these are various types of lettuce, sorrel, spinach) | |
| Spicy (coriander, tarragon, dill) | |
| Dessert (rhubarb) | |
| rhizomatous | Horseradish |
| stem | Asparagus, kohlrabi |
| generative group of vegetables | Names of vegetables |
| Floral | Broccoli, cauliflower |
| fruit | Pumpkin (pumpkin, zucchini, cucumbers, melons and watermelons) |
| Tomatoes (tomatoes, peppers, eggplants) | |
| vegetable beans and peas) | |
| Cereals (corn) |
Using this classification, you can properly build your diet, depending on the characteristics of each group and your body's need for certain nutrients. In addition, some vegetables are better and easier to digest, while others require more energy for these purposes.
Calorie content of different groups of vegetables
As you already understood, the considered classification of vegetables allows you to divide them not only depending on what part of the product is eaten. Among the most significant differences is such an indicator as the energy value inherent in a particular group.
Why, for example, is it advised to eat potatoes in moderation? This is due to the high calorie content of tubers, to which it also applies. It reaches 70-80 kcal per 100 grams. And per serving we use, as a rule, more (200-300 grams). And if you still cook fried potatoes or french fries so beloved by everyone, then it’s better not to start the calculation!
Root crops are less caloric - approximately 20-50 kcal per 100 grams of these vegetables. In onions, this indicator varies greatly. So, the calorie content of leek is 36 kcal, while garlic reaches as much as 149 kcal! But you should not exclude these healthy vegetables from the diet, besides, you still need to try to eat 100 grams of garlic at a time.
The greatest variety and no less benefit are characteristic of the group of fruit vegetables. At the same time, their calorie content is quite low - on average, it varies from 15 to 35 kcal. Therefore, vegetable salads (tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, etc.) are advised to include in your daily diet (you can do it more than once a day).
Knowing the approximate calorie content of each group of vegetables, it is easy to determine which ones should be consumed more often and in large quantities, and which ones should be more careful. At the same time, it is not worth abandoning some product (the same potato) because of the high energy value, because, in addition to calories, it contains a lot of useful substances and vitamins. Limit but exclude.
Another classification scheme for vegetables
In addition to the one we have considered, there is another classification according to which vegetables can be divided into starchy and non-starchy, green. The former include: carrots, beets, pumpkins, zucchini, cauliflower, celery root and parsley, etc. When eating these vegetables, they should be properly combined with other foods. So, in the company of sugar, they will give you such an unpleasant process as fermentation.
Green and non-starchy include everything (parsley, dill, celery, lettuce, etc.), eggplant, bell pepper, cucumbers, garlic, onions, green peas. This group of vegetables is quite easily absorbed by the body and is combined with almost all products - from animal proteins to legumes and grains.
The intermediate group is the so-called medium-starchy vegetables. It includes turnips, radishes, rutabagas and some others. In terms of compatibility, these vegetables are closer to green than to starchy. If stomach comfort and good digestion are important to you, then we recommend that you carefully study each of the groups presented by us.
Fruit
The simplest definition of fruits is as follows: these are edible shrubs and trees (from Latin fructus - fruit). At the same time, our narrow-minded view is somewhat different from the botanical one, which is actually wider. If the classification of vegetables included only vegetables (in the usual sense for us), then here we will consider all fruits. So, they are called both berries and nuts, which are distinguished by their juiciness and also grow on trees and shrubs. The table below will help us divide all the fruits into groups.
Classifying vegetables and fruits helps us see how diverse this food category is. Each selected group of fruits has its own characteristics. So, for example, nut fruits are the most high-calorie. Their energy value can reach 600 kcal or more! Therefore, it is important to limit them in your diet. In addition, nuts are a very difficult product for our body.
Not all fruits are sweet
Another fairly common classification of fruits divides them into sweet, semi-sweet and sour. The latter is the most widely represented in our country.
Sour are called citrus fruits, pomegranates, cranberries, pineapples, as well as some varieties of apples, plums, pears, grapes. Semi-sour are strawberries, raspberries, sweet-tasting cherries, apples, plums, pears. Sweet bananas, melons, watermelons (and some other fruits) should be limited in your diet and, if possible, not combined with anything.
Apply knowledge in the kitchen
If you know the classification of fruits, then you can easily build your diet according to the principles of proper nutrition. Is it worth eating a supplement of this salad or is it better to limit yourself to a small portion? Should potatoes be served as a side dish with meat or legumes?
You can easily answer these questions for yourself. If you learn the knowledge that we shared in the article, then soon you will have your own classification of dishes from vegetables or fruits. Some will become the basis of the diet, others will appear in it less often and in smaller quantities. We hope the information was useful for you and your health.
Views: 11375
08.05.2018
The reason for the existing confusion in the definition of fruits and vegetables is not primarily scientists - biologists, but culinary specialists. Historically, over time, the biological characteristics of products faded into the background, since the main part of people, when classifying fruits, began to focus solely on their taste characteristics according to the principle:
Sweet fruits are fruits belonging to the group of desserts
More savory in taste and suitable for cooking as a main course or side dish, these are vegetables
Let's look at a few examples:
Tomato. Vegetable or fruit?
It is noteworthy that in distant Spain this culture is called " Pomi del Peru", which translates as " peruvian apple". In Italy, this plant is called " Pomo d'oro" or " Golden Apple". The loving French called tomatoes the beautiful phrase " poma amoris", which translates as " love apple", and the ancient Aztecs called the tomato" Tomatl" or " large berry”, which is closest to the scientific designation of the plant.
The fact is that, according to its botanical characteristics, the tomato is a multi-star syncarp berry. Its fruits have a thin skin and rich juicy pulp with small seeds inside. Why not a berry?
Although if we carefully consider the method of growing tomatoes, we will see that it is very similar to the methods of growing all other representatives of the vegetable crop family, since the tomato is a tilled annual plant. This factor also introduces some confusion.
In Ukraine, it is customary to erroneously refer to tomatoes as vegetables, since tomatoes, like other vegetable crops, are used to prepare salads, sauces and first courses. They are pickled, stuffed, baked and so on.
Cucumber. Vegetable or fruit?
Another extremely popular and widespread vegetable crop is the cucumber. It is noteworthy that this plant has been purposefully cultivated by man for more than three millennia, and today there is a huge variety of its various varieties and hybrids.
In fact, a cucumber is a fruit that looks like a climbing vine, which, with the help of its spiral curls, reaches up, diligently clinging to any obstacles and structures.
Let's put an end to the long dispute: Who is who?
To begin with, it is necessary to define what is a fruit and what is a vegetable, because, as it turned out, neither the color of the plants, nor their external shape, nor the size and configuration of the fruit is absolutely important to find the truth.
Fruit
Fruits are edible fruits whose main natural function is to store the seeds by which plants reproduce. Based on this definition, cucumbers, eggplants, legumes, corn, and even nuts are nothing but fruits.
The fruit is the edible part of the plant, but separates from it as it matures so that the seeds can enter the ground and eventually germinate.
Vegetables
As for vegetables, they are also the edible part of the plant, but may consist of leaves, stems, roots, bulbs, and inflorescences.
Among other things, botanists divide the group of vegetables into the following types:
Leafy (spinach, lettuce)
Root crops (beets, carrots, radishes)
Stems (celery, rhubarb, ginger)
flower buds (cauliflower and broccoli)
Thus, it is determined that from a purely botanical point of view, fruits are the fruits of plants that develop from a flower and contain seeds. And if so, then legumes, corn, pumpkin, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, and so on, should be attributed to fruits, since all these plants produce flowers and produce seeds. Based on this principle, nuts and cereals are also fruits.
Vegetables are the edible parts of herbaceous plants: stems, leaves, roots, and even flower buds.
This has been sorted out a bit.
Alternative points of view
However, in the countries of the European continent, there is a completely different approach to the method of determining fruits and vegetables. All the juicy fruits of plants (and in particular, berries and drupes) are referred to as fruits, so a tomato, from the point of view of a European, is a fruit. Again, a complete mess.
There is another method for separating fruits and vegetables. It is quite simple: If the part of the plant that nourishes the fruit with nutrients and moisture remains unchanged for several years, then this crop is a fruit. Dot. If not, then we have a vegetable.
If you look from this point of view, say, at fruit garden trees, then they all have long-term boles and branches, and only fruits and leaves are subject to annual renewal. And, for example, such a crop as the same tomato is grown annually and at the end of the season the plant dies. Thus, a tomato is a vegetable.
But what about, for example, a banana? Nothing complicated.
The fact is that in the banana palm, which bears well-known fruits, the annual renewal of wood is hidden from view, since it occurs in the inner part of the tree, while the outer part (bark) remains unchanged. Therefore, people who call bananas fruits make a mistake. The situation is similar with pineapple.
But if we take, for example, the date palm, then its fruits (dates) are actually fruits, since the physiology of these two plants is significantly different from each other.
The traditional grape is also a fruit because it has perennial stems and a single root system.
Nuts, as mentioned above, also belong to the representatives of fruit crops, but peanuts are called a nut by mistake. He is a 100% vegetable.
According to this principle, strawberries should be attributed to vegetables, and shrubs such as currants or gooseberries to fruits.
Almost everyone loves fruits and berries. After all, they are so tasty and healthy! We admire various fruits lying on the table: peaches, apples, pears, plums, apricots - and we don’t know which one to choose. We inhale the aroma of berries: blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, currants, gooseberries - and we salivate. And here is a watermelon ... Is it really a berry too? What is the difference between a fruit and a berry? Let's try to figure it out.
What is the difference between a fruit and a berry
What is fruit and berry
Fruit - the juicy fruit of a tree or shrub
Which can be eaten.
Berry - juicy fleshy fruit
with many seeds, a kind of fruit.
Comparison of fruit and berry
What is the difference between fruit and berry? It turns out that in botany there is a term "fruit", but the word "fruit" is not used at all. The fruit is a plant organ that is formed from the ovary of a flower and contains seeds (or one large bone inside), and it can be both edible and inedible. Therefore, the fruits are cucumbers, and tomatoes, and melons, and peaches, and cherries, and even nuts. A berry in botany is a type of multi-seeded fruit. In a botanical sense, berries include gooseberries, currants, potatoes, asparagus, bananas, kiwis, watermelons, and even eggplant and tomato. At the same time, strawberries, strawberries, and wild roses are considered false berries in botany, since not only the ovary, but also the receptacle takes part in the development of the fetus. Read more: http://thedifference.ru/chem-otlichaetsya-frukt-ot-yagody/
