Botanically speaking, a pumpkin is a fruit. This is because fruits develop from the flower of a plant and contain seeds. Pumpkins fit this definition perfectly.
However, in culinary terms, pumpkins are often treated as vegetables. This is due to their savory uses in many dishes, like soups and stews, unlike many fruits that are predominantly sweet. The distinction lies in how we use them in cooking, not their botanical classification.
Several sources confirm this dual nature:
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Botanical Classification: Multiple sources, including articles from Texas A&M AgriLife Today and Today.com, explicitly state that pumpkins are fruits from a botanical standpoint because they develop from a flower and contain seeds. Texas A&M AgriLife Today and Today.com emphasize this scientific classification.
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Culinary Usage: Reddit discussions (r/NoStupidQuestions, r/GoodPizzaGreatPizza) highlight the culinary ambiguity. While botanically a fruit, pumpkins' frequent use in savory dishes leads to their common categorization as a vegetable in everyday language. Recipes like "Easy Vegetable Pumpkin Stir-fry" (Earth of Maria) further reinforce this culinary classification.
In summary, the answer depends on the context. It's a fruit scientifically, but frequently used as a vegetable in cooking.
