Botanically, a tomato is a fruit: the ovary, together with its seeds, of a flowering plant.[citation needed] however, the tomato has a much lower sugar content than other edible fruits, and is therefore not as sweet.[citation needed] typically served as part of a salad or main course of a meal, rather than at dessert, it is considered a "culinary vegetable".[citation needed] one exception is that tomatoes are treated as a fruit in home canning practices: they are acidic enough to process in a water bath rather than a pressure cooker as vegetables require.[citation needed] tomatoes are not the only food source with this ambiguity: bell peppers, cucumbers, green beans, eggplants, avocados, and squashes of all kinds (such as zucchini and pumpkins) are all botanically fruits, yet cooked as vegetables.

Botanically, a tomato is a fruit: the ovary, together with its seeds, of a flowering plant.[citation needed] however, the tomato has a much lower sugar content than other edible fruits, and is therefore not as sweet.[citation needed] typically served as part of a salad or main course of a meal, rather than at dessert, it is considered a "culinary vegetable".[citation needed] one exception is that tomatoes are treated as a fruit in home canning practices: they are acidic enough to process in a water bath rather than a pressure cooker as vegetables require.[citation needed] tomatoes are not the only food source with this ambiguity: bell peppers, cucumbers, green beans, eggplants, avocados, and squashes of all kinds (such as zucchini and pumpkins) are all botanically fruits, yet cooked as vegetables.