Are Tomatoes a Fruit? 7 Food Classification Arguments That Never End

Food

By Associated Press

Published 5 hours ago on

August 26, 2024

From tomatoes to cereal, explore the heated debates surrounding food classification and challenge your culinary assumptions. (Zuzana Paar)

Non-dairy milk alternatives spark controversy over their classification as dairy products despite nutritional differences.
The timing of consumption raises questions about whether breakfast sandwiches retain their identity when eaten for dinner.
Corn's unique properties allow it to be classified as a vegetable, grain, or fruit, depending on its harvest and consumption.

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Prepare to be shocked by these revelations about food that will challenge your opinion around its classification. Could tomatoes belong in the fruit aisle, and should cereals be shelved next to canned soups? Find out where you stand in these heated debates about food classification.

The Dairy Dilemma: Plant-Based Milk Alternatives

Non-dairy alternatives like almond milk or soy milk have been gaining popularity in recent years due to dietary preferences and the desire to avoid animal-based products. The debate is whether these alternatives should still be classified as dairy products – they have milk in their name but differ nutritionally from traditional cow’s milk. While some guidelines include fortified plant-based beverages in the dairy group, the controversy remains on whether this classification is accurate and if non-dairy alternatives should be allowed to have milk in their names.

Breakfast Sandwiches: A Matter of Timing

The typical breakfast sandwich consists of cheese, eggs and meat between two slices of bread. The question here is: Does it stop being a breakfast sandwich if it’s eaten for dinner? Some argue that combining specific breakfast-associated ingredients as a filling makes it a breakfast food with its distinct category. Others believe it’s just a sandwich if eaten later in the day. The timing of consumption remains a point of contention for breakfast sandwiches.

The Great Tomato Debate: Fruit or Vegetable?

Tomatoes have long been experiencing an identity crisis that everyone has differing opinions about. Botanically, they are classified as fruits because they have seeds and grow from plant flowers. However, tomatoes are not the typical fruit, being more savory than sweet so they’re often treated like vegetables and used for salads, sauces and sides.

Cereal: A Soup in Disguise?

Imagine you’re walking down the soup aisle at a grocery store only to find cereal boxes on the same shelf as Campbell’s soup. Technically, cereal is solid ingredients served with hot or cold milk, which is why some argue that it classifies as soup. Others find this to be diabolical as traditional soups are usually savory and cooked with its liquid, and so they refuse to consider cereal as a type of soup. Whether you’re a proponent of cereal being in the soup family or not, this makes for a fun debate where definitions are reinterpreted in several ways.

The Ice Cream Sandwich Conundrum

When you think of sandwiches, a savory BLT or a chicken sandwich probably comes to mind rather than a dessert. This is why the question of whether ice cream sandwiches belong in the sandwich category sparks a lively debate.

Ice cream sandwiches can take different forms, with ice cream placed between two wafers, cookies or biscuits. According to the traditional definition of a sandwich as anything with a filling between two slices of bread, ice cream sandwiches may not strictly fit the description because they’re often not made with bread. However, some argue that the structure of an ice cream sandwich is similar to a traditional sandwich, so the definition should be broadened to include anything placed between two pieces of a carbohydrate.

Corn’s Triple Identity: Vegetable, Grain, or Fruit?

Corn that is harvested and dried, also known as dried corn kernels, is considered a grain. However, botanically, like tomatoes, corn is classified as a fruit because it has seeds and develops from the flower of a plant. The issue arises because corn is often perceived as a vegetable in the culinary world. With the potential to be in three different food groups, it seems like corn cannot be confined to just one. The time of harvest and how it is consumed affect its classification, making it truly unique.

Protein Bread: A Category of Its Own?

Nowadays, there are alternatives available for just about anything you want as brands respond to the growing interest in healthy eating. Protein bread is one instance that has made a name for itself for being a high-protein alternative to traditional bread. Due to the different nutritional content, the question arises whether protein bread should be categorized as traditional bread or a specialized health product.

Since protein bread is made of the same base ingredients as traditional bread – flour, yeast, water – and is used similarly, it makes sense for it to remain in the same category as normal bread. However, its nutritional makeup differs significantly due to the addition of whey, soy or pea protein, which can also change its texture and taste. Protein bread is often marketed towards athletes, people with dietary restrictions or health-conscious shoppers, whereas traditional bread is meant for the general public. Considering these differences, displaying protein bread in the health products aisle rather than the bakery section may make the most sense.

Settling the Debate

The technicalities of food classification are a hot topic, with factors like timing of consumption and ingredient content blurring the lines between categories. Whether you’re adamant about tomatoes being a fruit or cereals belonging to the soup category, be prepared to defend your place against other foodies.