After many hours toiling on the Internet (ok, maybe just a two-minute Google search) the final verdict on the rhubarab issue is:
Vegetable.
BUT... it's not really so simple, friends. The botanical...etymology, if you will, is slightly more complex:
Vegetable.
BUT... it's not really so simple, friends. The botanical...etymology, if you will, is slightly more complex:
In 1947, rhubarb was legally classified as a fruite, even though botanically rhubarb is a vegetable. It was the United States Customs Court in Buffalo, New York, that ruled rhubarb to be a fruit since it was used mainly as a fruit. This cost-effective act allowed imported rhubarb to pay a smaller duty than if it was a vegetable. Dubbed "pie plant," pie was the only dish this tart treat was used for in the early days.* |
Et voilà. Capitalism prevails. Fruit it is.