A tomato is a soft, juicy fruit (yes, fruit, not a vegetable!) that grows on vines and is used like a vegetable in cooking. Tomatoes are usually round or oval, bright red when ripe, and packed with seeds surrounded by tangy, flavorful flesh.

You've probably eaten tomatoes dozens of ways: sliced fresh in salads, cooked into spaghetti sauce, squished into ketchup, or layered on pizza. Some tomatoes are as small as marbles (cherry tomatoes, perfect for snacking), while others grow as large as softballs. They can be red, yellow, orange, purple, or even striped.

Tomatoes originally came from South America, where people first cultivated them thousands of years ago. When Spanish explorers brought them to Europe in the 1500s, many people thought they were poisonous and grew them only as decorations! Eventually, people realized tomatoes were delicious, and now they're one of the most popular foods worldwide.

Here's the confusing part: scientists call tomatoes fruits because they grow from flowers and contain seeds, just like apples or oranges. But in 1893, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that tomatoes should be classified as vegetables for tax purposes because people eat them with dinner, not dessert. So technically, you can call a tomato either one and be right, depending on whether you're talking to a botanist or a cook.