Fruits undoubtedly enhance the quality of life. They’re generally sweet, revitalizing, and delicious. But what exactly constitutes a fruit? Items such as tomatoes, cucumbers and avocados are all fruits, despite not typically being classified as such. Scientifically, any part of a plant or tree that encloses seeds is classified as a fruit. So, if there are seeds present, it is technically a fruit. Then what exactly is a vegetable? “Vegetable” is not a term recognized in science; it is a term used in culinary arts. This suggests that a scientist might classify parts of a plant as fruits, roots, stalks, leaves, etc., whereas your grandmother might divide the plant into fruits and vegetables with fruits being the sweet part and vegetables making up the rest. Now that you’ve got the knowledge to educate your friends about fruits and vegetables, brace yourself to learn much more. If you hail from a western country, there are potentially hundreds, even thousands, of delicious fruits you’ve yet to discover. Let’s explore this delicious domain with 25 interesting facts about fruits that you probably weren’t aware of before.
Apples, peaches, and raspberries are all members of the rose family
Oranges actually have less vitamin C than many other fruits including guava, lychee, kiwi, strawberries, and pineapples
Coffee beans are actually not beans. They are fruit pits
Grapes explode if you put them in the microwave
The tomato is the world's most popular fruit
Grapefruits have been known to lethally interact with certain prescription medications
Cucumbers are actually fruits
The color orange was named after the fruit and not vice versa. Before that it was called "geoluread", meaning "yellow-red".
The Coco De Mer Palm tree is responsible for the world's largest fruit which weighs around 42 kg (92 lbs).
Pomology is the study of fruits
So you already know that tomatoes and cucumbers are fruits, but did you know that scientifically speaking, beans, avocados, sunflower seeds, lettuce leaves, and broccoli buds are too? This is because a fruit is the part of a plant that develops from a flower and contains the seeds. The other parts of the plant are considered vegetables
Did you enjoy these fruit facts? Then you might also enjoy these 25 strange fruits. Some of them you probably have never seen before.