To botanists, the tomato always has been, and ever will be, a fruit. Ms. Jones located a record of the arguments in the case of Nix v. Hedden. At the time, vegetables required a 10 percent tariff. Fruits were imported duty-free. But in the common language of the people, whether sellers or consumers of provisions, all these are vegetables which are grown in kitchen gardens, and which, whether eaten cooked or raw, are, like potatoes, carrots, parsnips, turnips, beets, cauliflower, cabbage, celery, and lettuce, usually served at dinner in, with, or after the soup, fish, or meats which constitute the principal part of the repast, and not, like fruits generally, as dessert.
Tomatoes are vegetables because they are cooked and served the way vegetables usually are.