Content
- Does the melon belong to the fruit or vegetable?
- The distinction between fruits and vegetables
- A question of the age of the plants
- Insert watermelon as a spicy vegetable garnish
- Tips & Tricks
Does the melon belong to the fruit or vegetable?
Although ripe watermelons and other types of melon, such as the honeydew melon, are quite sweet, the question is sometimes asked whether they are part of the fruit or vegetables.
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As an argument for a classification within the category vegetables is often the botanical affiliation to the genus of cucurbits (Cucurbitaceae) and thus a close relationship to pumpkins and cucumbers mentioned. The classification as a fruit is therefore rather based on a culinary assignment to the supposedly sweet fruit. Strictly scientific, there is no such separation between fruit and vegetables to the taste actually. After all, there are also some types of fruit that do not necessarily taste sweet:
Rhubarb, on the other hand, is usually perceived as a vegetable, although it is usually made into desserts. Taste alone does not answer the question of belonging to fruits or vegetables.
A question of the age of the plants
In fact, the assignment to fruits or vegetables takes place after the age of the respective plants. The fruits are perennial plants, which can sometimes reach a very old age as shrubs or trees. Therefore, the fruits of the olive tree are strictly considered fruit. As a vegetable, on the other hand, everything is defined that dies after harvesting with its remaining parts of the plant, or how asparagus has a maximum culture period of two years. With melon as a vegetable, all plant parts die off until new plants grow from the seeds in the next season.
Insert watermelon as a spicy vegetable garnish
Even the sweet-tasting watermelon is consumed in some countries as a spicy vegetable garnish. To do this, the fruit is cut into pieces and put in a vinegar solution, which is also a good way of preserving the watermelon's long-term storage.
Tips & Tricks
Due to the shorter growing season and the cooler temperatures, melons must be brought here in time in advance or grown in the greenhouse, if it comes to the harvest of the fruit.
WK