why is a tomato a fruit

A tomato is classified as a fruit because botanically it develops from the ovary of a flowering plant and contains seeds inside. This is the key criterion for fruits in botanical terms. Tomatoes grow from the flower of the tomato plant and have seeds within their chambers, meeting the botanical definition of a fruit. More specifically, tomatoes are considered berries as they are fleshy fruits without pits that develop from a single flower with one ovary. However, tomatoes are often treated as vegetables in culinary contexts because they are used in savory dishes rather than sweet ones. The common culinary usage leads to tomatoes being referenced as vegetables in recipes and everyday language. Additionally, in the United States, a Supreme Court case (Nix v. Hedden, 1893) legally classified tomatoes as vegetables for taxation purposes due to their common culinary use. In short, tomatoes are botanically fruits (seed-bearing structures from flowers) but are culinarily treated as vegetables because of their flavor and use in cooking.