This sounds to me like a reasonable way to disqualify something as a culinary fruit.
Folks like to make a big hullabaloo about tomatoes being technically a fruit, but no one gives a second thought about referring to peppers, cucumbers, green beans, eggplant, avocado, pumpkins & other squash, or corn on-the-cob as vegetables even though they are all technically fruit.
And I was being picky there, because beans, peas, grains and nuts are all also technically fruit. Heck, lots of “nuts” like peanuts and cashews aren’t even really nuts.
Keep your taxonomy out of my kitchen:
Fruit are sweet.
Vegetables are not.
Grains make bread.
Herbs and spices add a lot of flavor with a little bit. Herbs are the green ones.
nuts are. They just are. Don’t think about it too hard.
You can season duck with peppers, sure. Seasoning is a verb, to season one uses herbs, spices, peppers, (or if we’re talking about cast iron, oil or wax.)
Red (or any) bell peppers, poblano peppers, banana peppers, Padrón peppers, cherry peppers, shishito peppers, habanada peppers, all peppers with no heat.
Furthermore “heat,” while commonly conflated with “spice,” is not “spice.” “Spices” are not necessarily “hot:”
Hold the presses!! Americans don’t count avocados as fruit?!
Is that because they’ve never eaten a tree ripened avocado? It’s not sweet like a mango, but it’s sweet. Eat a green banana or strawberry and see if it’s sweet. That’s no way to tell the dessert potential of produce!
That could be part of it. Another part might be that many of us have only had experience with the Haas variety, if any. And then most likely as guacamole.
You are buying shitty pineapple. To select a good pineapple:
Tug at the center most leaf on top of the fruit, it should give easily. It should smell like pineapple. The skin should be golden colored to slight green (sl underripe) or a very slight touch brown (overripe). The bottom should be dry. The very green ones that you can get for $2-3 never ripen properly as they were picked too early.
This sounds to me like a reasonable way to disqualify something as a culinary fruit.
Folks like to make a big hullabaloo about tomatoes being technically a fruit, but no one gives a second thought about referring to peppers, cucumbers, green beans, eggplant, avocado, pumpkins & other squash, or corn on-the-cob as vegetables even though they are all technically fruit.
And I was being picky there, because beans, peas, grains and nuts are all also technically fruit. Heck, lots of “nuts” like peanuts and cashews aren’t even really nuts.
Keep your taxonomy out of my kitchen:
Carrots, caramelized onions?
Those fruits are of the devil and the less we speak of them the better
You know that caramelized onions don’t come from a plant?
Sugar beet
/s?
Fruits are edible seed pods. Nuts are inedible seed pods but have edible seeds.
Fruit makes wine.
Grain makes beer
Nuts in the right contexts make nougat, nut paste or babies.
Wait, you’ve found one! I consider peppers their own thing, culinarily speaking anyway, neither fruit nor vegetable.
The rest of your bullet points I basically agree with, but there’s also
peppers are peppery, not always hot, red bell are sweet, and green bell tastes like feet.
seeds are seedy, don’t think about the difference between them and nuts, some questions are not for mortal man.
Peppers are seasoning. ducks
You can season duck with peppers, sure. Seasoning is a verb, to season one uses herbs, spices, peppers, (or if we’re talking about cast iron, oil or wax.)
You don’t consider peppers spices? When something has a lot of pepper, wouldn’t you say it’s… spicy?
Riddle me that.
Red (or any) bell peppers, poblano peppers, banana peppers, Padrón peppers, cherry peppers, shishito peppers, habanada peppers, all peppers with no heat.
Furthermore “heat,” while commonly conflated with “spice,” is not “spice.” “Spices” are not necessarily “hot:”
Anise, allspice, cardamom, mustard seed, coriander, dill seed, clove, nutmeg, turmeric, saffron, vanilla, garlic, mace, sweet paprika, fennel, caraway, cumin, sumac, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, and MORE!
are all not-hot spices. You have been riddled.
You missed a perfect opportunity to add the word picquant into the conversation.
That’s because I just learned it lol, thanks!
Cheers!
I think this is more about which definitions to use for the purpose of tariffs than which definitions these things fall under.
Hold the presses!! Americans don’t count avocados as fruit?!
Is that because they’ve never eaten a tree ripened avocado? It’s not sweet like a mango, but it’s sweet. Eat a green banana or strawberry and see if it’s sweet. That’s no way to tell the dessert potential of produce!
That could be part of it. Another part might be that many of us have only had experience with the Haas variety, if any. And then most likely as guacamole.
Counterpoint: Oranges, pineapples
Both of those are sweet and fruit…?
They are sour. Or tart, in case of pineapples.
You are buying shitty pineapple. To select a good pineapple:
Tug at the center most leaf on top of the fruit, it should give easily. It should smell like pineapple. The skin should be golden colored to slight green (sl underripe) or a very slight touch brown (overripe). The bottom should be dry. The very green ones that you can get for $2-3 never ripen properly as they were picked too early.
Informative.
Please change your username to ananasexpert.
As much as I love pineapple my username combines my love of The Mothman, the Mandelorean, And Back to the Future.
I am passionate about fruits and veggies and enjoy helping people discover how to pick good ones.
You tartness and sweetness are two orthogonal axes. A fruit can be both quite tart and quite sweet, like some varieties of pineapple and cherry.
I want to try the pineapples you’re getting. Ours are sweet, but that’s about it.
Lemons and limes were right there man, they were right there
They’re not fruits by culinary definition.
Unless you eat them like oranges?😯
In that case, seek help.
Edit: On a serious note, I guess this is cultural difference?
Lemons and limes are definitely fruits in my culinary culture. What are they in yours, if not fruits?
Vegetables in supporting roles I guess.
Those are incredibly sweet highly acidic foods. The acid is what balances the sweet.