Food
The Red Food the Law and Science Can't Agree On
Which red vegetable is botanically classified as a fruit, not a vegetable?
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What is the answer to the red food the law and science can't agree on?
The answer is the tomato. Botanists call it a fruit because it grows from a flower and holds seeds, but in 1893 the U.S. Supreme Court (Nix v. Hedden) legally ruled it a vegetable for import taxes.
Why did a court call a tomato a vegetable when science says fruit?
Botanically a fruit develops from a flower and carries seeds, which the tomato does. But in 1893 the Supreme Court sided with how people actually eat it - in savory dishes, not as dessert - and taxed it as a vegetable.
Are there other foods the law and science disagree on?
Yes - cucumbers, peppers, pumpkins, and eggplants are all botanically fruits because each grows from a flower and carries seeds, even though cooks and shoppers treat them as vegetables.