Difference between Fruits and Vegetables

Fruits and vegetables both are obtained from plants. Although both serve the same purpose, they are entirely different from each other in terms of structure, taste and nutrition. Let us see how fruits differ from vegetable!

Fruits:

A fruit is a fleshy part of a plant that often contains seeds. Technically, it is the ripened ovary of a plant which contains seeds for reproduction. In the botanical sense, a fruits is a seed bearing part of a flowing plant that develops from the ovary after fertilization of the ovule present in the ovary. Mango, apple, guava, orange are some common examples of fruits obtained from different plants.

So, some parts of the plant that we commonly consider vegetables like cucumber, tomatoes, avocadoes, green beans etc., are technically fruits. In culinary terms, some fruits that are not sweet and tend to be savory are generally considered vegetables by cooks or chefs, e.g. tomato, pumpkins, zucchini and cucumbers.

Vegetables

Vegetables are any part of the plant that is edible and does not contain seeds. In other words, except fruits, cereals and nuts, which contain seeds, all edible parts of a plant are vegetables such as stems, leaves, roots and the unopened flower buds.

The root vegetables include carrots, potatoes, onions, beet etc. The stem vegetables are celery, green onions etc. Lettuce and spinach are examples of leaf vegetables and broccoli is a flower vegetable.

Vegetables are generally less sweet and more savory than fruits and can be consumed raw or cooked for meals. They also may or may not take part in a plant?s reproduction cycle. Some of the common examples of vegetables include potato, beans, spinach, cabbage, brinzle etc.

Based on the above information, some of the key differences between fruits and vegetables are as follows:

Fruits	Vegetables
It is the ripened ovary of a plant that contains seeds for reproduction.	It is any part of a plant that is edible and does not contain seeds.
Fruits are generally sweeter then vegetables.	Vegetables are generally less sweet and more savory.
Fruits play an important role in the reproduction cycle of the plant.	Vegetables do not play an important role in the reproduction cycle of the plant.
They have more calories than vegetables.	Vegetables have fewer calories than fruits.
They generally have higher sugar content than vegetables.	They have low sugar content than fruits.
Botanically, tomato is a fruit as it contains seeds.	From a culinary perspective, tomato is a vegetable as it is savory in taste.
Fruits are generally rich in antioxidants, vitamin c and fibers.	Vegetables are good source of vitamins, proteins, fibers and roughage.
Common examples: mango, apple, guava, orange etc.	Common examples: carrot, potato, onion etc., (root vegetables); green vegetable (stem onion); spinach (leaf vegetable); and broccoli (flower vegetable).
A fruit can be a vegetable.	A vegetable cannot be a fruit.