Whats the difference between fruits and vegetables?
Dear Straight Dope: Recently, I pointed out to someone the difference between fruits and vegetables. I then added that corn and nuts were neither of these because they were seeds, which make them grains. They swore up and down that corn was considered a vegetable. I learned that vegetables must be root, stem, or leave, and that fruit must be a fleshy covering of seeds. Corn does not fit either of these. So what’s the real difference between fruits and vegetables (and grains, and so on, ad nauseum)? Settle it once and for all. — Matt S.
