Is an avocado a fruit or vegetable?

The delicious avocado deserves a lot of love. With this nutrient-dense and delicious food - one-third of a medium avocado is packed with nearly 20 vitamins and nutrients, which is easy to find in cafes and kitchens worldwide. Despite all the attention given "smashed avocado on toast" and "avocado smoothies," confusion reigns supreme as to whether avocados are fruit or vegetables.

What classifies as being a fruit?

While it might seem simple enough to differentiate between a fruit and a vegetable, the definition depends on the context like many things in life. The fruit is a seed-bearing plant that develops from the ovary of a flowering plant. Generally sweet and fleshy, fruits classify as either drupes or berries. However, it's important to note that the boundary between a drupe and a berry is not always obvious. The amazingly delicious peach is the perfect example of a drupe. Drupes have a tough endocarp, or inner layer, and single stones or pits rather than multiple seeds.

In contrast, berries usually have a fleshy endocarp and more than one source. From a culinary perspective, foods that meet the biological definition of fruit are categorized to be vegetables. While a botanist would surely disagree, chefs often refer to fruits such as tomatoes, eggplants, and bell peppers as vegetables due to their savory taste.

Avocado

The avocado, a tree originating from southern Mexico, is classified as a member of Lauraceae's flowering plant genus. The plant's fruit, also called an avocado, is botanically a large berry containing a single large seed.

Avocados are an excellent source of vitamins B-6, C, E, K, potassium, magnesium, folate, riboflavin, niacin, and pantothenic acid. They also provide a healthy source of omega-3 fatty acids.