Today I thought I would write about some of the more common food misconceptions.
By this I mean incorrect references to some foods, particularly in regards to whether something is a fruit or vegetable.
I was talking with some colleagues about this this week and I thought it would be interesting to research and share.
First – Peanuts
Many people regards peanuts as nuts, however they are not.
As per
Wikipedia – ‘The peanut, also known as the groundnut and the goober and taxonomically classified as Arachis hypogaea, is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds.’
‘The botanical definition of a “nut” is a fruit whose ovary wall becomes very hard at maturity. Using this criterion, the peanut is not a true nut, but rather a legume. However, for culinary purposes and in common English language usage, peanuts are usually referred to as nuts.’
I’ve often wondered if that is the reason I don’t like them. I like all the other nuts!
Next – fruits and vegetables
Vegetable
According to
Dictionary.com a vegetable is any plant whose fruit, seeds, roots, tubers, bulbs, stems, leaves, or flower parts are used as food,
Fruit
Dictionary.com states that fruit is the developed ovary of a seed plant with its contents and accessory parts. Including the edible part of a plant developed from a flower, with any accessory tissues,
Using this more specific definition all fruits are considered vegetables but not all vegetables are fruit.
Olives, plums, tomatoes, artichokes and cucumbers are fruit. Lettuce, potatoes, celery and beets are not reproductive parts of the plant developed from flowers so are considered vegetables.
So with that in mind, a tomato is not a vegetable. Neither is corn, zucchini, pumpkin, green beans and peas.
Interestingly, berries are fruits that come from a single plant ovary with multiple seeds.
With this in mind, scientifically bananas, grapes and capsicum are actually berries.
More berry facts
Raspberries, blackberries and mulberries are called ‘Aggregate fruits’ because they are actually a bunch of tiny little fruits grown together.
Strawberries are also a different kind of fruit called a ‘fleshy receptacle’. This is because the actual fruits are the tiny little seeds stuck to the outside of the strawberry.
Wow, who would have thought that there were so many fruits and vegetables that we refer to incorrectly.
I will be looking at my fruit and veges in a whole new light now.
Till the next post,
Live Clean n Prosper.
