If you love to eat broccoli, you may be wondering whether broccoli is a vegetable or a fruit, or neither. This is a common question because broccoli is one of those food types that is difficult to classify.
In fact, many people find it difficult to understand what different types of produce are vegetables or fruits. Since the products may not always be what you first think, they can come as a surprise.
For example, most people classify a tomato as a vegetable because it’s prepared in a savory way. But a tomato is actually a fruit and how it grows and multiplies may come as a surprise to many people.
Read on to find out if broccoli is a vegetable or a fruit, or if it’s considered something else entirely.
Broccoli is neither a fruit nor a vegetable
If you love to eat broccoli, you may be wondering if broccoli is a vegetable or a fruit. This is a very common question, but the answer isn’t nearly as simple as you might think since broccoli isn’t technically a fruit or vegetable.
Broccoli is often used to describe the flowering part of a broccoli plant, meaning it is neither a fruit nor a vegetable. This is another common example of a product type that doesn’t meet your expectations.
Vegetables are typically described as a part of a plant that is considered edible or grown specifically for that part of the plant. Examples of this would be peppers, beets, onions or potatoes.
Fruits are seed-bearing plants that have emerged from the flower. As they are made from flowering seeds that have emerged from the seed in the ovary of the plant.
These are fairly broad terms, and most people don’t use them properly or fully understand what they mean. Because there are certain types of products that we automatically assume are vegetables or fruit depending on how they taste and how they are prepared.
Is broccoli a flower?
Since broccoli is neither a fruit nor a vegetable, you may be wondering what exactly it is. It may surprise you that broccoli is actually considered a flower.
The entire broccoli plant itself is not considered a flower as it is not built like a flower. But the part of the broccoli that is eaten is the flowering part, which has not yet opened to form full blooms.
Surprisingly, broccoli isn’t the only product considered a flower rather than a fruit or vegetable. Because it is a category that many people are completely unaware of when it comes to the products they buy and eat.
Produce can be divided into two distinct sections as all types of produce form a flower and this helps to disperse seeds and propagate.
Edible flower
Since all kinds of products produce flowers, they need to be divided into two categories. What makes a product a flower is the fact that the flower is edible, creating a category of flowering products
This is used to describe a plant that forms an edible flower, usually only the flower part being eaten and not the rest. This is what causes a species to produce a flower instead of a fruit or vegetable.
Non-edible flower
There are also different types of plants that produce flowers but are not edible. That, or people don’t usually eat the flowering part but some other part of the plant.
An example of this is root vegetables, as most root vegetables have a flower that grows at the top of the ground. However, these flowers are not usually sold in grocery stores, even if they are considered edible.
Because of this, various types of produce, such as beets and carrots, are considered vegetables, not flowers.
Broccoli is what part of the plant
A broccoli plant is a type of plant that is purposefully grown so that the flowering part can be eaten. This is usually the topmost tip of the plant, where the flower buds are densely compacted and held together by thick stalks.
The unique thing about broccoli is that the majority of the broccoli plant and a flowering part can be eaten without hesitation. Therefore, the flowering part of the broccoli, as well as the fleshy stalks, are technically unedible.
This is a great option because you can enjoy the entire broccoli plant and not waste anything. However, it’s important to make sure you’re harvesting broccoli before the flower actually opens and begins to bloom.
This is because the quality of broccoli decreases significantly once the flower buds have opened and the flowers officially begin to grow. This affects the flavor and texture, as well as how you can store broccoli.
Broccoli is not a root vegetable
Some people may be confused as to what broccoli is and what part of the plant it comprises. Broccoli is considered the top of the plant as this is the flowering part where the buds are densely packed.
Broccoli is not a root vegetable as some people might assume, as you don’t actually eat the root of broccoli. This part of the plant is found underground and is not generally eaten for a variety of reasons.
Broccoli is not like root vegetables as the root part is not considered edible and the floral part is preferred. Unlike true root vegetables like onions, carrots, potatoes and beets.
These are vegetables that are considered root vegetables because the root portion is eaten. That doesn’t necessarily mean the top of these above-ground vegetables isn’t edible, but the root is more familiar.
Broccoli and cauliflower are very similar
Many people compare broccoli and cauliflower because they are very similar plants when it comes to figuring out exactly what broccoli is. Both broccoli and cauliflower are considered flowering plants, with the flowering part being eaten.
You can also eat most of broccoli and cauliflower, although it’s not necessarily the flowering part of the plant. Because the fleshy stems that carry the flowers are edible and taste very similar to the real flowers.
Both broccoli and cauliflower are considered unopened flower buds that are eaten before they are fully grown. Because the quality and taste decrease significantly if you eat broccoli and cauliflower as soon as the buds have opened.
However, there are many other flowering plants that you may find on the fruit and vegetable aisle of your local grocery store. Artichokes are also considered flowers as they are unopened flower buds at the very top of the plant.
For this reason, its petals are tightly drawn together, since they have not had the opportunity to bloom and open like a conventional flower.
