Sweet Truth: Why Louisiana’s State Vegetable Reigns Supreme!

If you know me, you know I love watermelon. In fact, for my birthday each year, my parents would gift me with my very own watermelon that I did not have to share with my 5 brothers. It was heaven.

But I spotted something online the other day about watermelon being a vegetable. What? Yes the official state vegetable of Oklahoma is the watermelon. But as you know, watermelon is not a vegetable. It's a fruit. I guess the Sooner state wanted to recognize 2 fruits. Because the strawberry is the official state fruit.

What's the official state fruit in Louisiana?

That's no surprise. The Louisiana grown strawberry is our official state fruit. We grow some of the sweetest berries you will ever taste. I've picked em right off the plant and popped in my mouth. They are so delicious. But picking strawberries is no easy task. The plants are low to the ground and you have to bend all the way over of crawl around on your hands and knees to pick these juicy berries.

What is the officials state vegetable of Louisiana?

Our law says this about vegetables:

There shall be an official state vegetable plant. The official state vegetable plant shall be the Creole Tomato.
There shall be an official state vegetable. The official state vegetable shall be the sweet potato.

So we have a plant distinction and a vegetable distinction. I'm perfectly fine with the sweet potato being our state veggie. We are one of the largest producer of sweet potatoes in the U.S. North Carolina leads the pack with Louisiana, California and Mississippi coming in next on the list.

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The sweet potato is also the official vegetable in Alabama and North Carolina.

The state fruit and vegetable in Arkansas is the vine ripe pink tomato while Texas recognizes the red grapefruit in the fruit category and the Texas state vegetable is the sweet onion.