Vegetables that behave like fruit!

As I previously shared, the 8th of every month is "Fruit Day" (Kudamono no Hi) in Japan. In honor of the day, I thought I would share some fruit surprises of living in Japan! One of the charming quirks of life in Japan is discovering there are several things that Japan classifies differently than in my home country - and one of them is fruit! 

Not everything we call "fruit" in English, or at least in my homeland of Ireland, is treated as fruit in Japan. The Ministry of Agriculture has an interesting way to divide fruits. Of the divisions, one has always entertained me "果実的野菜" or "fruity vegetables" aka "vegetables that behave like fruit". I love that expression! These are items that taste sweet, are usually eaten raw, and feel like fruit! In Japan, this category includes, would you believe, strawberries, melons, watermelon, pineapple and bananas. That is bananas indeed!

It is a fun reminder though, that "fruit" isn't just botanical, its cultural. In Japan, the word "kudamono" tends to refer to sweet produce enjoyed fresh, while the statistical category of fruit is narrower. So, your summer slice of watermelon or a winter pack of strawberries may technically be vegetables on paper, yet they live firmly in the fruit corner of Japanese hearts and supermarket shelves.