25 Sweet Facts About Fruits That You Never Knew

Posted by , Updated on January 16, 2024

Fruits just make life better. They are usually sweet, refreshing, and tasty. But what exactly is a fruit? Tomatoes are fruits. So are cucumbers and avocados. But you don’t typically consider them to fall in that category. As it turns out, scientifically speaking, a fruit is simply the part of a plant or tree that contains seeds. So, if it has seeds, it’s a fruit. But then what is a vegetable? Well, “vegetable” is actually not a scientific term at all. It’s a culinary term. This means that a proper scientist would divide the parts of a plant into fruits, roots, stalk, leaves, etc. while your grandma would most likely divide the plant into fruits and vegetables (the fruits being the sweet part and the vegetables being everything else). So, now you know all about fruits and vegetables and you can impress your friends with your new found knowledge. But get ready to learn a lot more. Because if you come from the west, there are probably hundreds, if not thousands of very tasty fruits that you have never heard of. Today we’re going to dive into a world of tasty goodness with 25 sweet facts about fruits that you never knew.

25

Apples, peaches, and raspberries are all members of the rose family

Apples, peaches, and raspberries are all members of the rose familySource: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia
24

Oranges actually have less vitamin C than many other fruits including guava, lychee, kiwi, strawberries, and pineapples

Oranges actually have less vitamin C than many other fruits including guava, lychee, kiwi, strawberries, and pineapplesSource: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia
23

Coffee beans are actually not beans. They are fruit pits

Coffee beans are actually not beansSource: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia
22

Grapes explode if you put them in the microwave

Grapes explode if you put them in the microwaveSource: reddit, Image: wikipedia
21

The tomato is the world's most popular fruit

The tomato is the world's most popular fruitSource: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia
20

Grapefruits have been known to lethally interact with certain prescription medications

Grapefruits have been known to lethally interact with certain prescription medicationsSource: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia
19

Cucumbers are actually fruits

Cucumbers are actually fruitsSource: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia
18

The color orange was named after the fruit and not vice versa. Before that it was called "geoluread", meaning "yellow-red".

The color orange was named after the fruitSource: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia
17

The Coco De Mer Palm tree is responsible for the world's largest fruit which weighs around 42 kg (92 lbs).

Cocodemar2Source: wikipedia, Image: Shutterstock
16

Pomology is the study of fruits

Pomology is the study of fruitsSource: wikipedia
15

So you already know that tomatoes and cucumbers are fruits, but did you know that scientifically speaking, beans, avocados, sunflower seeds, lettuce leaves, and broccoli buds are too? This is because a fruit is the part of a plant that develops from a flower and contains the seeds. The other parts of the plant are considered vegetables

So you already know that tomatoes and cucumbers are fruits, but did you know that scientifically speaking, beans, avocados, sunflower seeds, lettuce leaves, and broccoli budsSource: wikipedia

Did you enjoy these fruit facts? Then you might also enjoy these 25 strange fruits. Some of them you probably have never seen before.

14

Why do we call so many fruits vegetables then? Because from a culinary standpoint vegetables have come to be considered savory (in general) and fruits are considered to be sweet (in general)

Why do we call so many fruits vegetables then? Because from a culinary standpoint vegetables have come to be considered savory (in general) and fruits are considered to be sweet (in general)Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia
13

Of course, this rule doesn't always hold so sometimes savory fruits like tomatoes are labeled as vegetables because this is a more useful (and less accurate) way of dividing up our ingredients

Of course, this rule doesn't always hold so sometimes savory fruits like tomatoes are labeled as vegetables because this is a more useful (and less accurate) way of dividing up our ingredientsSource: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia
12

Enough of the terminology, did you know that tomatoes have more genes than humans?

Enough of the terminology, did you know that tomatoes have more genes than humans?Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia
11

There there are trees called "fruit salad trees" that can sprout 3 to 7 different fruits...on THE SAME tree. This is accomplished via grafting two or more plants so that they grow and function as a single plant.

Different fruitsSource: Scientific America, Image: Shutterstock
10

Some Japanese farmers grow square watermelons

Some Japanese farmers grow square watermelons for easier storageSource: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia
9

There are over 7000 different type of apples grown all over the world

ApplesSource: Illinois.edu, Image: Shutterstock
8

And humans share 50% of their DNA with bananas?

And humans share 50% of their DNA with bananas?Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia
7

Pineapples and bananas are actually berries

A pineapples is actually a berrySource: wikipedia, Image: pixabay
6

Once again, this boils down to terminology. In everyday lingo, berries are usually small, round, and juicy. Scientifically, however, berries are fruits produced from the ovary of a single flower in which the outer layer of the ovary wall develops into an edible, fleshy portion.

Once again, this boils down to terminology. In everyday lingo, berries are usually small, round, and juicy.Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia
5

Fruits don't die when they are harvested. They continue to respond to their environment long afterwards.

Fruits don't die when they are harvested. They continue to respond to their environment long afterwards.Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia
4

Eating miracle fruit will make very sour food taste sweet (at least for a few hours)

Eating miracle fruit will make very sour food taste sweet (at least for a few hours)Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia
3

Not all oranges are orange. If the weather isn't cold enough, the chlorophyll in the skin doesn't break down and the fruit stays green

Not all oranges are orange. If the weather isn't cold enough, the chlorophyll in the skin doesn't break down and the fruit stays greenSource: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia
2

So you probably don't really care about the scientific definition of a berry right? But just to amaze your friends, besides bananas and pineapples, other berries include grapes, eggplants, and cucumbers

So you probably don't really care about the scientific definition of a berry right? But just to amaze your friends, besides bananas and pineapples, other berries include grapes, eggplants, and cucumbersSource: wikipedia
1

Bananas are slightly radioactive

Bananas are slightly radioactiveSource: wikipedia, Image: blazingfires13 via deviantart