Lately, there has been a lot of posts on Facebook (and likely other places) about whether pineapple belongs on pizza. Some people really like it that combination and others, including myself, do not. I had a Hawaiian pizza once and all I can remember was how disappointed I was. Pizza evokes a certain flavour memory that ham and pineapple just can't measure up to. I won't ever order one again. I have nothing against ham and pineapple. They go together. They just don't belong together on pizza dough.
During all thearguments discussions about pineapple on pizza, someone tried to claim that fruit just doesn't belong on pizza. Well, hey, if you are building me a dessert pizza with strawberries and chocolate, I'll take that in a heartbeat! But when the subject of fruit on pizza came up, some wise person pointed out that tomatoes are also fruit.
One of my friends had, of course, heard that before, but suddenly wondered just why tomatoes are considered fruit and not vegetables since that's how most of us treat them. I said I thought it was because it had seeds inside. I knew there was another reason too, but hey, I've been out of school for 55 years so it wasn't coming to me. She pointed out that cucumbers have seeds on the inside too. Well, I went home and asked Google if cucumbers were fruit, and sure enough, they are. So are peppers, eggplant and zucchini. Oh, now that last one excites me as I'll be able to use it against my fruit loving, vegetable avoiding husband, and just as the zucchini crop is starting to come on strong too.
The other reason these things are all fruit is that they form from the blossom, just like apples and peaches and cherries and berries, etc. Vegetables don't do that.
Fruits are the mature ovary of a plant and contain seeds to grow the next generation. Vegetables, on the other hand, are usually grouped according to the part of the plant that is eaten such as leaves (lettuce), stem (celery), roots (carrot), tubers (potato), bulbs (onion) and flowers (broccoli). While they both are rich in fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants fruit contains more sugar, so vegetables are considered to be better for your health.
So, the next time you have a slice of pizza, remember the tomato or pizza sauce spread over the dough is not a vegetable serving. In fact, commercial tomato sauce has so much sugar in it that not only is it not a vegetable, but it should be classified as a dessert. Hmmmm.....let's skip the tomato sauce and get back to the idea of strawberries and chocolate chips. You might even try adding pineapple to that and I won't complain.
During all the
One of my friends had, of course, heard that before, but suddenly wondered just why tomatoes are considered fruit and not vegetables since that's how most of us treat them. I said I thought it was because it had seeds inside. I knew there was another reason too, but hey, I've been out of school for 55 years so it wasn't coming to me. She pointed out that cucumbers have seeds on the inside too. Well, I went home and asked Google if cucumbers were fruit, and sure enough, they are. So are peppers, eggplant and zucchini. Oh, now that last one excites me as I'll be able to use it against my fruit loving, vegetable avoiding husband, and just as the zucchini crop is starting to come on strong too.
The other reason these things are all fruit is that they form from the blossom, just like apples and peaches and cherries and berries, etc. Vegetables don't do that.
Fruits are the mature ovary of a plant and contain seeds to grow the next generation. Vegetables, on the other hand, are usually grouped according to the part of the plant that is eaten such as leaves (lettuce), stem (celery), roots (carrot), tubers (potato), bulbs (onion) and flowers (broccoli). While they both are rich in fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants fruit contains more sugar, so vegetables are considered to be better for your health.
So, the next time you have a slice of pizza, remember the tomato or pizza sauce spread over the dough is not a vegetable serving. In fact, commercial tomato sauce has so much sugar in it that not only is it not a vegetable, but it should be classified as a dessert. Hmmmm.....let's skip the tomato sauce and get back to the idea of strawberries and chocolate chips. You might even try adding pineapple to that and I won't complain.
