Are Carrots Fruit or Vegetable? Understanding Their Classification

Carrots are vegetables that produce fruits! That’s the simple and honest answer. It only gets more fun from there.

In the end, a carrot checks every box here as a vegetable, but a carrot plant also produces fruits.

It’s not always easy to tell what’s a fruit and what’s a vegetable. In fact, the discussion surrounding it can become rather enticing—even filthy. This is because some foods are technically fruits yet are often referred to as veggies (and treated like vegetables, too). 

Some people create a distinction based on the sweetness level, but a botanist would argue that the difference is more related to the portion of the plant you are eating than to flavor.

So, are carrots a fruit or vegetables? The answer is not straightforward. We have to look at this matter through different aspects like: horticultural, culinary, legally, dictionary, and cultural.

This article will investigate which foods are fruits, which are vegetables, and which are genuinely fruits despite being labeled as veggies at the grocery store. 

You’ll leave with solutions to these and other questions:

• What exactly is the difference between fruits and vegetables?
• Horticulturally: Are carrots a fruit or a vegetable?
• Culinary: Are carrots a fruit or a vegetable?
• Legally: Are carrots a fruit or a vegetable?
• Dictionary: Are carrots a fruit or a vegetable?
• Legally: Are carrots a fruit or a vegetable?

Let’s dive into the most fascinating headache you’ll have all day.

A Carrot Is a Vegetable That Produces Fruits

In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure of a plant. Botanically a vegetable is every other part of the plant that is not the seed-bearing structure, including the roots, stalk, stems, and leaves.

A carrot is botanically a vegetable because it is the taproot of the carrot plant. The carrot plant, on the other hand, produces botanical fruits.

Carrots are biannual plants, which means they have a two-year life cycle. Carrots are normally plucked as annuals and are not allowed to mature. Carrots that have two growing seasons and are permitted to overwinter will generate schizocarps.

Schizocarps are the structure that results from successfully pollinated carrot flowers and contain carrot seeds. They are botanically classified as fruits produced by the carrot plant. 

Another example of a schizocarp is the winged maple leaf structure that falls from the tree and looks like a helicopter spinning its way to the ground.

The carrot is a root vegetable. This is more of an agricultural term and botanists define a carrot more strictly as a taproot.

The taproot of a carrot is a storage organ that stores carbohydrates for the plant. The plant does this so well that it makes a good vegetable.

Horticulturally a Carrot Is a Vegetable

Horticulture is the growing of plants for human use as food or non-food use. It differs from agriculture in that crop sizes are smaller and more variety of crops are grown.

In horticulture, a vegetable is defined as something that comes from a herbaceous annual and fruit from a woody perennial.

INFO
A perennial is a plant that comes back and continues to produce year after year. Fruit trees like apple, peach, or cherry trees are examples of woody perennials with branches that are not green and soft but woody.

A carrot is a biennial plant, meaning it takes two years to complete its life cycle. This fits neither category but is closer to an annual that lives 1 year than a fruit tree that lives 20. It is also a herbaceous plant with green leafy foliage above the ground.

Horticulturally, a carrot is a vegetable.

Culinary Use of Carrots – Fruit or Vegetable?

The culinary definition of a fruit or vegetable has to do with the taste and texture of the product but also when it is typically served.

Vegetables have a more mild and savory taste with a rougher texture and be served as a main dish or side dish during the main part of the meal. Fruits have a sweet or tart taste with a smoother texture and are usually served as a dessert or snack.

Carrots are sweet for a vegetable and can be used in desserts but apples, oranges, and bananas all have more than 2x the sugar of a carrot.

Some people believe that because carrots are used in sweet dishes, they must be a fruit. However, other people argue that because carrots are cooked with meat or added to soups, they must be vegetables. 

This one could be argued by some crazy carrot-loving chef but I think for the most part it’s safe to say that carrots are used as vegetables in cooking.

Supreme Court Weighs In on Fruits and Vegetables

In 1893 there was a case that made its way to the Supreme Court in which the plaintiff alleged that tomatoes were fruits and he should not have to pay the import tax on vegetables when importing tomatoes.

During the case, the court called fruit and vegetable merchants to testify and explain how they used the terms fruit and vegetable when talking about their merchandise to customers and other vendors.

Eventually, the Supreme Court decided that although tomatoes plants were botanically and scientifically a fruit their culinary usage and common reference as a vegetable meant that tomatoes were a vegetable and should be taxed as such.

The case was Nix vs. Hedden. It also referenced an earlier case in which a merchant tried to get out of a tax by calling beans seeds.

Dictionary Definitions of Carrot, Fruit, & Vegetable

Since we’re trying to define things, then looking at a dictionary full of definitions makes sense.

According to Merriam Webster, a carrot is ”a biennial herb (Daucus carota of the family Umbelliferae, the carrot family) with a usually orange spindle-shaped edible root”.

Merriam-Webster’s definition of a vegetable is “a usually herbaceous plant (such as the cabbage, bean, or potato) grown for an edible part that is usually eaten as part of a meal”.

It defines fruit as “the usually edible reproductive body of a seed plant especially : one having a sweet pulp associated with the seed”.

Although a carrot is called a herb in its definition and not a vegetable it fits the definition of a vegetable perfectly. It is a herbaceous plant grown for an edible part, the roots.

Culturally Definition of Carrots

Our culture has been a little wacky lately but I believe I still have enough of a grip on it to say that most people if asked would consider a carrot a vegetable and not a fruit.

I have never seen a fruit salad with carrots in it but see garden salads with greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, and carrots regularly.

There is no definitive answer to this question, but it is interesting to explore how different cultures classify carrots.

In the United States, carrots are generally considered to be vegetables.

Facts About Carrots

• The first wild carrots man collected to grow were an ivory color. This was around the 10th century. Next came yellow and purple varieties. Orange carrots didn’t come along until the 17th century and come from the earlier yellow varieties.
• Baby carrots aren’t a variety of carrots but are carrots picked while they are still immature.
• Carrot plants are biennials that take two years to complete their life cycle. They will flower and produce seeds in their second year of life. If you’re not interested in collecting the seeds from carrot flowers you can take some of the flowers and put them in a vase of water with food coloring and in a few days, the flowers will have soaked up the dye and changed color.
• Carrots can be used to distill alcohol.
• Carrots contain large amounts of beta-carotene, a chemical that the body can turn into vitamin A. Vitamin A is known to be good for eyesight.
• If you eat too many carrots your skin really can turn a tint of yellow/orange.
• There is a carrot pie-flavored jelly bean.

To learn about different types of carrots check out “Different Types & Varieties of Carrots?“

Conclusions

In conclusion, carrots are a vegetable because they are typically eaten cooked, they grow underground, and they are a part of the cruciferous family. By taking into consideration horticultural, culinary, legal, and dictionary, we also come to the same conclusion.

Although they are high in sugar and carbs, carrots offer many health benefits and are a great addition to any diet. So next time you’re at the grocery store, be sure to pick up a bunch of carrots to add to your next meal!

Please comment below with your own thoughts about carrots and their classification as a fruit or vegetable.