Why is pumpkin a fruit

All of these unique fruit-vegetables are part of the Cucurbita genus. Regardless of what kind of food you classify pumpkins as, one thing is certain, they have many health benefits. For one, pumpkins are a great source of fiber. Dietary fiber is an important factor in helping people lose weight, lower blood pressure, and supporting overall heart health. Eating foods with a high fiber content can also help you feel fuller after meals and prevent unhealthy snacking.

Orange squashes, like pumpkins, are also loaded with beta carotene. This antioxidant helps support immune health, eye health, and reproductive health. This undeniably healthy food can even help ward off cancer.

It is loaded with vitamin A, which has been scientifically proven to help fight prostate and lung cancer. Pumpkin seeds are also especially nutritious and are loaded with protein and unsaturated fatty acids. Eating pumpkin seeds has been shown to help fight certain types of cancer and reduce the risks of chronic disease. In the botanical sense, pumpkins are fruits because they are produced by the reproductive body of the plant. But in the kitchen, this most popular type of squash falls into the vegetable category.

And, no matter what you call it, the king of fall foods is packed with health benefits and worth including in your meals whenever you get the chance. Need more pumpkin in your diet? Here are 23 fantastic vegan pumpkin recipes worth trying.

Or try this fantastic Pumpkin Fruit Dip recipe:. Pin Share Tweet Email. Pumpkin Fruit Dip. Already have an account? Log in here. Thanks, but no thanks. No, thanks I'm already a PureWow fan. No, thanks I hate pretty things. From lattes and desserts to savory pumpkin dishes , this popular fall food is as tasty as it is versatile. But we've always wondered, is pumpkin a fruit, or is pumpkin a vegetable?

You're probably thinking that the orange-yellow squash easily falls into the vegetable category—which would make total sense. They have that earthy, slightly sweet flavor that makes them perfect for hearty soups , casseroles , pastas and everything in between. And besides, it's not like we can easily toss raw pumpkins into our morning fruit salad. Surely, this must mean that the festive treat is a vegetable, right? Well, not so fast—it turns out that pumpkin is actually a fruit and not a vegetable.

Read on for more details on why it's considered a fruit. According to botanists, fruits are developed in the ovary of a flowering plant and they contain seeds. But if you were to ask a culinary expert to tell you what fruits are, their definition might be a little different.

Since most cooks tend to classify foods by their taste, fruits are generally described as sweet and tart, which makes them perfect for popular desserts like pies and cakes. But scientifically speaking, not all fruits are dessert-worthy. Vegetables, which tend to have a more savory taste, are defined as the edible parts of plants that don't contain seeds.

They typically contain stems, roots, flowers, bulbs or leaves, which means that produce like leafy greens , cabbage, cauliflower , potatoes, yams and asparagus are all considered vegetables. Since fruits are seed-bearing structures and pumpkins contain a gooey pulp with a wealth of seeds known as pepitas , they are definitely fruits.

And if you think that that's wild, get this: Pumpkins are also considered giant berries, since a berry is defined as a fleshy, pulpy and edible fruit that may contain seeds. Pretty nuts, isn't it? A pumpkin isn't the only savory food that's considered a fruit.

It's also worth noting that avocados , eggplants , olives, peppers and tomatoes are also fruits—although they're usually referred to as vegetables in the culinary world. Pumpkin, which is a type of squash, isn't the only plant in the family that comes with many seeds. Though they all vary in taste and texture, it turns out that all squash, from butternut and acorn to crookneck and zucchini , have seeds in them.

And so this makes them—you guessed it—fruits. Frankly—and at the risk of being labeled as pumpkin conspiracy theorists—we're here to confess that we're just not buying it.

Sure, fine, we get it. Pumpkin does fit that scientific encyclopedic description to a tee. Fleshy: check. Contains seeds: check. But does that really mean we should run around calling our round jack-o-lantern friends fruit? One last thing: If pumpkins are fruit, that would mean practically anything with an enclosed seed would qualify as a fruit, right? We're looking at you, avocados, olives, peppers, and beans. What's that, you say? All those foods are fruits, too? The thing we call a pumpkin is, in fact, a type of squash.

But it's also a gourd, mainly due to the fact that it's used as both an ingredient and as a decorative piece. Here's the gist of what you should know: Many squashes are gourds. But not all gourds are squashes. Gourds are usually smaller and harder-skinned, and are more often used for decoration than as a cooking ingredient. But squash aka pumpkins and gourds both belong to the Cucurbitaceae family, which includes almost 1, species, including the winter and summer squashes you know and love, as well as cucumbers, watermelon, honeydew, and more.

Yes, all gourds are fruit.