BY: VALERIE ANN DISMAYA
Squash is a staple in Filipino cuisine, particularly in “Pinakbet.”
Besides being used in savory dishes, it can also be turned into bread and even beverages.
But if you think squash is a vegetable, well, you’re mistaken!
Squash is actually classified as a fruit.
Fruits are the seed-bearing structures of flowering plants.
According to experts, fruits are the parts of a plant that develop from flowers and contain seeds.
Since squash has seeds and grows from the flowering part of the plant, it is technically a fruit.
On the other hand, vegetables are edible parts of a plant that do not contain seeds, such as leaves of pechay and kangkong, stems of kamote tops, roots of singkamas, and bulbsof onions.
Interestingly, squash isn’t the only fruit we often mistake for a vegetable.
Other fruits commonly misidentified as vegetables include bell peppers, cucumbers, avocados, olives, and green beans.
For most people, however, it doesn’t really matter whether it’s a fruit or a vegetable, as long as it tastes good and is healthy for the body, it’s a win!
