Food is very important for living beings as it contains a nutritional value that is good for our body to keep it healthy. Food could be anything of animals, plants or fungi containing necessary nutrients like protein, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals etc.
Food has many functions. Foremost is that it gives us energy, useful for our growth, maintains life, is good for metabolism etc. Fruits and Vegetables constitute an important part of the food.
Key Takeaways
- Fruits develop from a plant’s flower and contain seeds, while vegetables come from other parts of the plant.
- Fruits are sweeter, and vegetables are more savory.
- Fruits are eaten raw or in desserts, while vegetables can be consumed in various dishes.
Fruits vs Vegetables
Fruits are a plant’s fleshy, mature, and ripened ovary that comes from all flowering plants and contains one or multiple seeds. Vegetables refer to any part of a plant, including the roots, tubers, bulbs, flowers, stems, and leaves that are used as food by either humans or animals.
Fruit contains seed, so it is a kind of flowering plant, and biologically it is called angiosperm. Edible fruits can be found in many places on Earth. This is possible because of the movement of animals and humans as they disperse the seed from one place to another.
Both animals, as well as humans, are dependent on fruits as it forms an important source of food. Fruits have now become the source of agricultural production in the whole world. Culturally and symbolically, they are very crucial.
Vegetables mean that they are part of the edible plants that can be eaten, including fruits, stems, leaves, flowers, roots, and seeds. It is also consumed by animals and humans. It has various tastes. It is used for both culinary and cultural practices.
Vegetables are crucial because they are high in minerals, vitamins and fibres. They are annual and are grown now almost in every part of the world, keeping in mind the climate. It is included in the diet because they are low in calories and fat but satisfy our stomachs.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | Fruits | Vegetables |
|---|---|---|
| Sugar | High in sugar. | Low in sugar. |
| Consumed | Raw and Ripe | Raw, immature, tender, processed, cooked etc. |
| Propogated | Vegetatively | Sexually |
| Cropping | Inter-Cropping | Relay-Cropping |
| Eaten as | Dessert | Meat |
What are Fruits?
Fruits are fleshy in a structure that contains seeds, are consumed raw and are sweet and sour. Humans and Animals are completely dependent on fruits for consumption.
Sometimes many things are referred to as fruits that don’t contain their structure, like corn kernels, tomatoes, nuts, bean pods, and wheat grains. Fruits are called angiosperm that is edible.
The outer layer of the fruits is called the pericarp. To develop, fruits go through the process of maturing and fertilisation.
Fruits can be developed according to three types Apocarpous, Syncarpous and Multiple Fruits. If we classify fruits, then also there are three types simple, aggregate and multiple. Fruits consist of seeds either inside or outside.
But some fruits are seedless, like pineapples and bananas. Commercial cultivators benefit from seedless fruits. Even satsumas, table grapes, grapefruit, mandarin oranges, navel oranges, and watermelons are produced seedless without fertilization.
Variation in fruit structures is due to different methods of seed dispersal, like by water, wind, humans, animals etc. Fruits have many uses, both culturally as well as commercially.
They are eaten fresh and used for making marmalades, jams, preservatives, cakes, ice creams, yoghurts, baked goods, juices, alcohol etc. Spices like pepper, allspice, vanilla etc., are also derived from fruits. Ol is also extracted from fruits. They are very high in sugar.
What are Vegetables?
The term ‘Vegetable’ was first heard in England in the 15th century. It originates from the Old French word. Vegetable means flourishing, growing, quickening etc.
It is the edible part of the plant, and it is consumed in many forms, like leaves, flowers, roots, stems, fruits, and seeds. Before Vegetables were used for agricultural purposes, humans used to collect the parts of plants as hunter-gatherers.
Forest Gardening is one of the first examples of agriculture where useful plants were grown, encouraged and identified, and removed unwanted ones. Vegetables have very high nutritional values.
Unlike fruits, they are very low in sugar and fat. Important for antioxidants and vitamins like A, C and E when it is included in our food, it helps in the reduction of lots of diseases like stroke, cancer, chronic ailments etc.
However, it also contains toxic substances, and to remove them, Vegetables are cooked at a sufficient temperature. Vegetables are mostly green and leafy. They are perennials, biennials and annuals. For a long time, they have been part of our diet.
It has unique flavours. Depending upon the climate and soil, they are different in colour, taste and size. They are ploughed, harvested, stored, and preserved culturally and commercially. China is the largest producer of vegetables in the world after India, the USA, Turkey, Iran etc.
Main Differences Between Fruits and Vegetables
- Fruits are very high in sugar content and rich in water, fibre, and Vitamin C. Vegetables are low in sugar content and are rich in minerals, proteins and vitamins.
- Fruits are consumed freshly when they are ripe. Vegetables are consumed when they are immature and tender. It can be cooked, eaten raw or processed.
- Fruits are propagated vegetatively. Vegetables are propagated sexually.
- Intercropping is commonly used in fruits. Relay-Cropping is commonly used in vegetables.
- Fruits are eaten as jams, marmalades, desserts, juices, beverages etc. Vegetables are eaten as a main part of the meat.
- https://academic.oup.com/advances/article-abstract/3/4/506/4591497
- https://ifst.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-2621.2001.00513.x
Last Updated : 18 July, 2023
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Sandeep Bhandari holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Computers from Thapar University (2006). He has 20 years of experience in the technology field. He has a keen interest in various technical fields, including database systems, computer networks, and programming. You can read more about him on his bio page.
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