Are Potatoes Vegetables or Fruits? Well, this is ages old debate and has been a topic of discussion that we are going to clear today!
Potatoes are simple to cook and even simpler to grow, but what exactly are they? Are Potatoes Vegetables or Fruits? While many people consider potatoes to be vegetables, some argue that they are actually fruits. To understand why this is such a contentious issue, keep reading!
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What is a Vegetable?
In short, a vegetable is any part of the plant that we eat as a meal by cooking. Since a vegetable is classified as an edible part of the plant, in that sense, fruits can also be termed as vegetables – tomatoes are a great example!
Vegetables are typically high in essential vitamins, minerals, and dietary fiber. Common examples include carrots, potatoes, celery, peppers, tomatoes, and lettuce.
What is a Fruit?
A fruit is a type of edible plant product with a sweet, tart, or mixed flavor, often high in natural sugars. Fruits are typically characterized by their fleshy outer layer, or skin, which is usually edible. Common fruits include apples, oranges, bananas, grapes, and strawberries.
Also, do remember the fact that not all fruits are edible. In fact, there are many poisonous berries that you must avoid eating!
Fruits start to develop when the flowers are pollinated. It results in the formation of the seed, and the ovum starts to take the shape of juicy flesh around it. There are also plants out there that produce fruits without the pollination of flowers – the reason why we see so many seedless fruits around us!
Are Potatoes Vegetables or Fruits?
Well, potatoes are vegetables. If we are going to be specific, then potatoes are tubers, which makes them root vegetables. However, they are not the actual roots of the plants, but grow at the end of them. As we have stated above in the ‘What is a vegetable’ section, we eat veggies in some or another. Potatoes are edible, and we consume them in many forms.
Potatoes are certainly not fruits. What will surprise you is the fact that potato plants produce fruits that look a lot like cherry tomatoes. However, these fruits are toxic and are not fit for human consumption.
So yes, potatoes grow at the end of the roots and not from the flowers. They also don’t contain seeds, and the plant will produce potatoes as tubers whether they get pollinated or not.
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Are Potatoes Vegetables or Fruits? Why is It Even a Debate?
This debate is only there to let people have a better understanding of the plant. This gives us a detailed perspective on how potatoes are certainly not fruits, and the plant produces them without even the need for pollination, and how it is important to avoid eating the actual fruits of the plant as they are not fit for consumption.
It also gives us information on how the potatoes are actually starchy vegetables (tubers) that grow underground.
