Wheat grain is strictly a vegetable, being an edible plant part. But people usually use the word to refer to a socially-constructed category which is completely feels-based. Membership tends to be determined by flavor profile, nutrition content, and whether the given part falls into another popular sub-category (such as fruit or nuts). This is why fruits like the tomato and pumpkin are usually sorted as vegetables separately from fruits with generally sweeter flavors like the banana or orange.
Vegetables like grains, legumes, and certain tubers will often be grouped together as “carbs” due to their high carbohydrate content which distinguishes them from low-calorie, high-fiber vegetables like spinach or broccoli.
Wheat grain is strictly a vegetable, being an edible plant part. But people usually use the word to refer to a socially-constructed category which is completely feels-based. Membership tends to be determined by flavor profile, nutrition content, and whether the given part falls into another popular sub-category (such as fruit or nuts). This is why fruits like the tomato and pumpkin are usually sorted as vegetables separately from fruits with generally sweeter flavors like the banana or orange.
Vegetables like grains, legumes, and certain tubers will often be grouped together as “carbs” due to their high carbohydrate content which distinguishes them from low-calorie, high-fiber vegetables like spinach or broccoli.