Vegetables & garden · Solanum lycopersicum
Discovering tomatoes
Puschel waters the soil while Flauschi examines the tomatoes. Puschel“No shower for the fruit?”
The short answer
Tomatoes develop from flowers and are botanical fruits. In cooking, we treat them as vegetables. Many varieties turn red as they ripen, but other varieties have yellow, orange or differently coloured fruit. Colour alone does not prove ripeness for every variety.
An imagined Wusel scene
Puschel and Flauschi investigate
Puschel waters the soil while Flauschi examines the tomatoes. Puschel“No shower for the fruit?”
Puschel“Today the soil gets the water,” he says. On their red-ripening variety they spot red tomatoes and green ones that are not ready. They leave the green ones attached.
Flauschi calls a tomato a vegetable with a fruit secret. Puschel grins. Puschel“Luckily, salad does not need a secret password.”
Discover
Tomatoes develop from flowers and are botanical fruits. In cooking, we treat them as vegetables.
Understand
Many varieties turn red as they ripen, but other varieties have yellow, orange or differently coloured fruit. Colour alone does not prove ripeness for every variety.
Connections
Tomatoes need light, warmth and regular watering. A greenhouse provides shelter but can overheat and needs ventilation.
Little Wusel quiz
Can a tomato be a botanical fruit and a culinary vegetable?
Show answer
Yes. Botany describes the plant part; cooking uses a different classification.
Explore in more detail
Here you will find longer explanations and further details. You can explore them together.
How can a tomato be both a fruit and a vegetable?
Botanically, a fruit develops from a flower and often contains seeds. A tomato is therefore a fruit, specifically a berry. Vegetable is a culinary category describing how plant parts are used. Both descriptions can be right because they answer different questions.
Compare and understand
Compare a tomato cut by an adult with a carrot: the tomato has a fruit wall, juicy chambers and seeds; the carrot is a swollen root. Both may go in the same soup. Green plant parts and unknown unripe tomatoes are not tasting materials; adults select suitable ripe fruit.