Botanically, a tomato is the
ovary, together with its seeds, of a
flowering plant: therefore it is a
fruit or, more precisely, a
berry. However, the tomato is not as sweet as those foodstuffs usually called fruits and, from a culinary standpoint, it is typically served as part of a salad or
main course of a meal, as are
vegetables, rather than at
dessert in the case of most fruits. As noted above, the term "vegetable" has no botanical meaning and is purely a culinary term.