It seems strange that so many of the fruits that have “berry” in their names are not true berries, but botanically, it is true. Understanding how fruits are classified can be difficult, but a simple explanation may clear things up. A berry is a simple fruit developed from one flower that has many seeds loosely embedded in its flesh. Strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries are not berries in the botanical sense. They are, instead, aggregate stone fruits or just aggregate fruits. The flowers that develop these fruits have numerous pistils that develop many tiny fruits.
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Some aggregate fruits like the blackberry or strawberry are also considered accessory fruits, or aggregate-accessory fruits. This is because they contain a significant proportion of flesh developed from non-ovarian tissue. These are sometimes called pseudocarps.
A stone fruit (simple stone fruit) is a fruit that has a thin exocarp or ‘skin’ with a layer of flesh (usually juicy) underneath it. This flesh surrounds a seed with a hard endocarp.
So, stone fruits are fruits like peaches, plums, and cherries. Coconuts are also stone fruits, but they have a fibrous flesh. These are all fruits considered drupes.
Aggregate stone fruits like raspberries are produced by flowers with many ovaries that grow many fruits joined together on a swollen receptacle on the end of a stem.
Examples of true berries, with many seeds, are blueberries, gooseberries, and grapes. However, there are other examples of berries which may surprise you.
Fruits that Are Surprisingly Berries
Melons are berries, for example. Yes, a watermelon is a huge berry! It meets the description above, doesn’t it? Melons are a type of berry called a pepo, with a very thick rind. Tomatoes are also berries. So too are cucumbers and peppers. Bananas are also sometimes classified as berries.
The avocado is a berry, as well: An unusual one-seeded one. The cacao pod, from which chocolate is derived, is also a berry. There is also the pineapple and the pomegranate. What strange berries!
Of course, no matter how a botanist classifies a berry, we aren’t going to make a berry pie with cantaloupe or cucumbers.
Key Summary Points For “Strawberries and Raspberries are Not Actually Berries?”
- A berry is a simple fruit developed from one flower that has many seeds loosely embedded in its flesh.
- Strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries are not true berries in the botanical sense. Instead, aggregate stone fruits or aggregate fruits.
- Aggregate stone fruits develop from flowers with numerous pistils that grow many tiny fruits together.
- A stone fruit is a fruit with a thin skin, fleshy layer, and a hard endocarp surrounding a seed.
- Examples of stone fruits include peaches, plums, and cherries. Coconuts are also stone fruits, but have a fibrous flesh.
- Many fruits are classified as berries botanically even though we don’t think of them as berries in the culinary or lay sense.
- Fruits such as melons, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, bananas, avocados, cacao pods, pineapples, and pomegranates are all botanically considered berries.
- However, just because a fruit is botanically classified as a berry does not mean it is used culinarily as one. For example, we would not make a berry pie with cantaloupe or cucumbers.
