Is Apple a Fruit or a Vegetable?
It’s a question many of us have asked ourselves at one point: Is apple a fruit or a vegetable? Although the answer may seem obvious, there’s actually more to this than meets the eye.
Anatomy of an Apple
Our first clue is in the anatomy of an apple. An apple is composed of several parts including:
- Skin
- Flesh
- Core
- Seeds
The core of the apple is composed of five seed-bearing carpels and is enclosed in the flesh of the apple. In fact, apples, like other fruits, come from the ovary of a flower and contain seeds, a true sign of a fruit.
Characteristics of a Fruit
It’s true that apples have the same characteristics of a fruit such as:
- A sweet flavor
- A fleshy body
- Contain seeds
So it’s easy to classify apples as a fruit.
Why It’s Confusing
The confusion lies in the fact that many people consider a vegetable to also include a fruit. Technically speaking, however, a fruit is defined as an edible product of a plant that contains seeds and has a sweet flavor. Whereas a vegetable is an edible part of a plant such as roots, stems, leaves, or any part of the plant other than the fruit.
In conclusion, an apple is a fruit and not a vegetable!
