Buzz
Let me clarify what happens when one vegetable develops feelings for another. The flower parts do have genders: pollen comes from the male part, and it needs to reach an ovary, the female part of the flower. In some plants, like eggplants, both male and female parts can be found in the same flower, while in others, like watermelons, separate male and female flowers exist.
However, regardless of the details, a fruit remains a fruit. After the ovary is fertilized by pollen, it turns into a fruit with seeds. This means fruits like eggplants and peppers, though they are often called vegetables, are technically fruits.
No matter what, a fruit is still a fruit. The fertilized ovary becomes a fruit with seeds. This shows that eggplants and peppers, though often considered vegetables, are technically fruits. And yes, that’s entirely true, even if you call them vegetables.
When you pick up an eggplant from the store, you're not choosing between a male or female vegetable. It's simply the flesh from the ovary of a flower, with seeds that will grow into plants featuring both male and female parts. There's no such thing as 'male' or 'female' eggplants, peppers, watermelons, or any other vegetables people invent myths about.
Luckily, there are experts dedicated to setting the record straight about vegetables, patiently debunking these myths over and over:
'This is a garden myth,' states the Oregon State University extension regarding the gender of bell peppers.
'There are no 'male' or 'female' eggplants,' clarifies Mary Keith from the University of Florida extension.
'[Vegetable expert Joe] Kemble wants to make it clear that there are no male fruits,' notes the Alabama A&M and Auburn Universities extension page.
A lot of the advice about vegetable gender revolves around finding subtle indicators, like the number of sections on a pepper or the shape of the flower scar on an eggplant. But again, these signs don’t tell you anything about the gender of the vegetable. Eggplants don’t come in different types based on scar shape; they simply have flower scars. You can create whatever story you want, but it won’t help you pick the right one. Instead, try these tips for choosing the ripest, freshest produce.
