Fruits vs Vegetables: Can You Tell Which is Which?
In the battle for plant supremacy—fruits vs vegetables—you always win. Filling up on plants is a big part of a healthy diet. They’re full of healthy phytonutrients, fiber, vitamins, and minerals. And you get a lot of nutritional bang for your caloric buck.
That’s why you’re supposed to get at least two to three cups (455-680 grams) of vegetables and one-and-a-half to two cups (385-455 grams) of fruit per day. But do you know the difference between fruits and vegetables? Can you pick out which vegetables are really fruits in disguise?
It’s harder than you might think to identify the plants that are botanically fruits vs vegetables. That word “botanically” is the key. Plenty of fruits are treated as vegetables in a culinary sense, but what are they from a scientific perspective.
Before you start, here’s a hint to help you distinguish fruits vs vegetables. Botanically, fruits are defined as a ripened ovary (fleshy product of a tree or plant) that contains seeds from one or more flowers. And a vegetable is a plant or part of a plant used as food.
Hopefully those definitions help you out. Now it’s time to try your hand at picking fruits vs vegetables.
Fruit or Vegetable?
You’ve accepted the challenge. Now dive into 20 questions that will strain your brain and test your knowledge of fruits vs vegetables. The questions get harder as you go, and there are some surprises that could trip you up. Track your score, and after you’re done, share your score on social media and brag about your plant knowledge. Then get your friends and family to take the quiz to see if anybody can beat your score.
Oranges?
Kale?
Vegetable
It’s green. It’s leafy. It’s a vegetable. Kale, which is also called leaf cabbage, is a cruciferous vegetable packed with vitamins, carotenoids, and sulforaphane.
Grapes?
Fruit
Green, red, or purple, all grapes are fruits. But they fall under a category that might surprise you. Botanically speaking, grapes are berries. These powerful fruits contain polyphenols like resveratrol.
Carrot?
Vegetable
Carrots aren’t all orange. But no matter the color, they’re all vegetables. Carrots are root vegetables brimming with carotenoids—beta-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin—so they might help you see in the dark.
Sweet Potatoes?
Vegetable
Don’t let the “sweet” fool you. Sweet potatoes are root vegetables, just like carrots. But these tubers are part of the morning glory family. You’ll get fiber, vitamin C, and potassium from sweet potatoes, making them a better choice than regular potatoes.
Strawberries?
Fruit
Strawberries aren’t actually berries. Shocking, right? They are fruits, though. Either way, strawberries are juicy, red, and delicious—and they contain healthy flavonoids.
Cherries?
Fruit
They’re sweet. They’re sour. They’re all fruit, all the way. If you’re looking for a bigger nutritional impact, turn to sour cherries. They contain more vitamins and minerals, overall, than their sweet cousins.
Tomatoes?
Fruit
This one’s a little trickier. Botanically, a tomato is a fruit in the nightshade family—so it’s also a berry. But a tomato is legally a vegetable in the U.S., thanks to an 1893 Supreme Court case about taxes (Nix v. Hedden). For our purposes, it’s a fruit bursting with vitamin C and lycopene.
Green Beans?
Vegetable
Green beans are a vegetable, but they aren’t your average vegetable. They’re members of the legume family. And we eat not only the beans inside, but the flesh on the outside. Green beans are fat-free, contain fiber and important antioxidant phytonutrients.
Peaches?
Bananas?
Fruit
Even though they grow on an herbaceous flowering plant, bananas are a fruit. In fact, they’re botanically classified as berries. Bananas have a lot of vitamin B6, but not as much potassium as you’d think—spinach and mushrooms actually have more.
Asparagus?
Olives?
Fruit
The olive is a savory treat. But that doesn’t keep it from being a fruit! Yes, olives are fruits that grow on evergreen trees or shrubs. Olive fruit contains polyphenols and flavonols. And its oil is rich in antioxidants and monounsaturated fats that support heart and skin health.
Avocados?
Corn?
Cucumbers?
Bell Peppers?
Brussels Sprouts?
Vegetable
This cabbage family member is an edible bud. That makes Brussels sprouts a vegetable. It’s another cruciferous vegetable sprouting with vitamin C, vitamin K, and the phytonutrient sulforaphane.
Butternut Squash?
Fruit
Time to squash the rumors—get it?—gourds are fruits. So, butternut squash, and even pumpkins, are botanically classified as fruits. Squash supplies vitamin C, riboflavin, vitamin B6, and carotenoids.
