How to Identify Fruit or Vegetables

Those who assume apples, pears and peaches are fruits while tomatoes, eggplants, peppers and squash are vegetables are wrong. These are all fruits. A great deal of other fruits masquerade as vegetables, as well. So, what's the best way to identify a fruit or vegetable so that you can get the proper amount of each into your diet? There is an easy way to identify the different parts of plants, and the difference between vegetables and fruits.

Things You'll Need

• Garden with a wide variety of plants

Instructions

1. Take a close look at the plants in your garden. You may have several different types of edible roots that you grow. These may include carrots, potatoes or beets. The roots of plants are considered vegetables.

2. Identify the leafy greens in your garden. The top part of beets is considered a green, as are kale, spinach and lettuce. These are all the leaves of plants, classified as vegetables.

3. The main part of the plant, or center, is the stalk. Identify plants in your garden that have edible stalks. Common stalks that are eaten would be celery and rhubarb. Plant stalks are vegetables.

4. Identify the edible flowers in your garden or flower bed. Examples of plants with edible blossoms include squash plants and nasturtiums, among many other ornamental plants. The flowers of plants are vegetables, too.

5. Look around your garden and identify ovarian parts of plants (their flowers develop into mature ovaries and produce seeds for reproduction). Edible parts of plants such as tomatoes, pea pods, eggplants, tomatoes and peppers are all considered to be fruits.

6. Select a few different fruits from your garden such as tomatoes or squash. Slice them open to reveal the seeds. The seeds grow into plants. If you eat the seeds they are considered a vegetable. The only part of the plant that is classified as a fruit is the part that contains the seed.

References

• Fruits and Vegetables of the World; Michel Viard; 1995.
• Differences Between Fruits and Vegetables