The British public has a lack of knowledge on the difference between fruit and vegetables, according to a new poll in which 49 per cent of respondents thought a tomtato was a vegetable.
Nearly 500 people took part in the survey by GardeningExpress.co.uk, with 99 per cent incorrectly recognising peas in a pod as veg and only four per cent correctly identifying butternut squash as a fruit.
Furthermore, a respective 91 and 93 per cent of respondents incorrectly listed peppers and pumpkins as members of the vegetable family.
Meanwhile, a staggering 97 per cent of those polled believed olives and aburgines to be vegetables, while only 34 per cent correctly identified a cucumber as a fruit.
A spokesperson for GardeningExpress.co.uk, said that consumers are confused as fruits are often served with savoury meals.
He said: “The simplest way to identify which is a fruit and which is a vegetable is that fruit has seeds. In a cucumber the seeds run through the middle of the plant. In an avocado or olive, the seed is the stone at the centre.”
