I have yet to get a straight answer on the difference between a fruit and a vegetable.

This good enough?

According to dictionary.com,

A fruit is actually the sweet, ripened ovary or ovaries of a seed-bearing plant. A vegetable, in contrast, is an herbaceous plant cultivated for an edible part (seeds, roots, stems, leaves, bulbs, tubers, or nonsweet fruits). So, to be really nitpicky, a fruit could be a vegetable, but a vegetable could not be a fruit.

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Plain English for a non-scientist, that's not. But hey, it's something.

No, you have yet to get a straight answer that you choose to accept

Exercise for the brain, I like, especially when it comes to food—my passion!

All vegetables are actually considered fruits. According to Larousse Gastronomique, “Botanically speaking, fruit is the part of the plant that develops from the ovary of the flower and contains the seeds.” 2 common examples of vegetables that are actually fruits are zucchini and eggplants. Vegetables are merely defined as varieties of plants used for food. I suspected it had something to do mostly with seeds.

Botanically, tomatoes are fruits, however, in 1893 the United States Supreme Court ruled that tomatoes were classified at vegetables. The argument in the case of Nix vs Hedden was whether tomatoes were categorized as fruits or vegetable under the Tariff Act of March3, 1883 as the act taxed imported vegetables but not fruit. The Nix family filed the suit against New York Port Collector Edward Hedden in an effort to recover duties paid under the Act.

Both plaintiff and defense used a variety of dictionary definitions and sniglets* as evidence. The defense read evidence of peppers, cucumbers and eggplants having seeds, like tomatoes whereupon the plaintiff retorted with definition of tubers, cauliflower and beans. The court unanimously ruled that based on common usage and parlance the tomato was classified as a vegetable, regardless of it’s botanical nature.

Another case argued whether beans were classified as vegetables even though botanically they were seeds. Again, the court ruled that beans are commonly referred to as vegetables. I consulted my attorney about fruit vs vegetable and confused by the connotation/denotation he answered Charles Nelson Reilly and Terry Schiavo respectively. There exists no single wallet-sized definition of neither fruit nor vegetables due to the enormous variety of both. Furthermore, many vegetables, nuts and spices are the fruits of plants. In full compliance with the rulings of the United States Supreme Court, Mr. Rockwell would be wise to differentiate fruits and vegetable by either sweetness, location within his local grocer or which he would have for desert or desert accoutrement (experimental “artichoke sherbet and whipped windshield wiper fluid” cuisine notwithstanding) lest he soon ponder the banana/plantain matrix down at Gitmo.

*keyfruit (kee 'froot) n. any single fruit or vegetable that when removed causes the rest to tumble onto the aisle

This one makes me crazy. It's comparing apples and oranges, so to speak. Botanically, "vegetable" is a vague term, while "fruit" has a specific definition. Gastronomically, vegetables are savory or used in savory ways, while fruits are sweet or used in sweet ways, but both words are vague, especially in these latter days of gastronomic experimentation. So my answer to Rocks' question is: are you talking botany or gastronomy? There isn't a straight answer because it isn't a straight question.

Consider okra, chilies, eggplant, pumpkins, and turban squash.

If my three year old daughter eats it, it is a fruit. Everything else is a vegetable.

I remember reading somewhere that bananas are actually herbs. Does that make sense?

You are right!
The tree is an herb. Too lazy to read further, which is why they don't pay me much.

PS: I'm not sure about bananas

Banana + Sucker=?

Botanically, the banana "tree" is actually a giant herb...a pseudo-trunk and flowering spike that dies off periodically and is regenerated by the underground portion of the plant. Contrast with true woody plants, which grow permanent above-ground structures.

The edible banana itself is clearly a fruit, albeit a mutant, sterile one (like the navel orange) which has been dependent on human propagation for some 6000-7000 years. The black streak you see in cross-section when you slice the fruit is all that remains of its seed. Wild bananas apparently have quite large seeds and relatively little flesh.

The answer to Meaghan's question is of course One Happy Herb.

Spinach is not a fruit. Bok choi is not a fruit. Celery is not a fruit. Lettuce is not a fruit. Escarole is not a fruit. Leeks are not fruit. These are all leaves and stems.

Carrots and turnips and beets are roots.

Broccoli is a flower.

But ketchup is a vegetable! ;^)

I just came across this passage in A.J. Jacobs' "The Know-It-All":

Too cute.

I had a discussion the other day regarding Herbs vs. Spices. Penny for your thoughts anyone??

Um. Seeds versus leaves?

It's clear enough to me that herbs are aromatic leaves, and spices are aromatic seeds, seed-pods, bark, pollen, and so forth, but I have yet to find a dictionary (at least a general-purpose dictionary) that bears that out. For example, the relevant definitions in Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary (a bit old, I know, but I happen to have a copy handy):

Herb: A plant or plant part valued for its medicinal, savory, or aromatic qualities.

Spice: Any of various aromatic vegetable products (as pepper or nutmeg) used to season or flavor foods.

These examples of spices I would certainly classify as spices, but by these definitions they would also be herbs, and parsley would be a spice, which to me is nonsense.

With the exception of “Butros Khaury”, herbs are fresh,
whereas spices are dried or in cologne form.

Where would dried herbs fit within this spectrum? Are they still herbs or do they become spices upon drying? Or is are herbs merely a subset of spice?

I think herbs are leaves and soft stems, dry or fresh, and spices are harder things, seeds, roots, and bark.