Eli5: What’s the actual difference between fruit and vegetable besides where they grow?

1.05K views

I’m a little interested in why the distinction between fruits and vegetables were even made and I’m not smart enough to word it well enough for google. I know that one grows above ground and the other doesn’t, but does this sole difference actually make them different foods? Sort of like how a strawberry isn’t really a berry because of where it grows but does it have some extreme chemical makeup difference that leads it to be well…not a berry?

In: Earth Science

5 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Explanation: so I’m not a horticulturist, and may have no idea what I’m talking about. Fruits grow above ground while vegetables grow below ground. The fruits are meant to distribute the seeds of the plant so the flowering process creates different nutrients, usually base on natural sugars. Vegetables are mostly roots, having a chemical structure meant to absorb more nutrients then distribute them. The difference between those two organic structures requires a different set of additives in the forms of vitamins and minerals, which humans need a variety of from both. Again could be wrong but that’s my understanding.

You are viewing 1 out of 5 answers, click here to view all answers.