Fruits With Seeds or Pits – And is There a Difference?

Last Updated on October 20, 2023 by April

There are many delicious fruits to eat, but sometimes you just want a fuss-free snack. Seeds and pits can be a hassle so you may be wondering which fruits you can enjoy on the go.

Or perhaps it is trivia night and you need a quick list of fruits with seeds or pits. Either way, you will find this list of seeded and pitted fruits very useful!

Difference Between Seeds and Pits

There are many differences between fruits and people are curious what the deal is with seeds and pits. While seeds and pits generally serve the same function, the key difference is that pits or ‘stones’ contain seeds.

Many pitted fruits are actually known as drupes. For a fruit to be categorized as a drupe, it must contain one seed/stone or a single capsule with seeds inside.

The purpose of a pit in a ‘stone fruit’ is to protect the inside seeds until the environment is conducive to growing. Once that happens, the seeds are exposed so that the fruit can begin to grow.

Examples of Fruits With Seeds

Popular fruits with seeds are apples, kiwis, figs, papaya, passion fruit, strawberries, pears, pomegranates, watermelon, and grapes.

Examples of Fruits With a Pit

Popular fruits containing a pit include plums, peaches, olives, mangos, avocados, and cherries.

List of Fruits With Seeds or Pits

If you look up culinary fruits, you will notice that there are a ton of fruits with seeds. Here is a list of the most commonly consumed seeded and pitted fruits.

Grapes

Watermelon

Pears

Kiwis

Figs

Apples

Oranges

Pomegranates

Persimmon

Passion Fruit

Papaya

Durian

Cantaloupe

Guava

Tomatoes

Squash

Apricots

Plums

Peaches

Dates

Cherries

Avocado

Mango

Nectarines

Olives

Fruits With Seeds on the Outside – Nope, Strawberries Don’t Count

Interestingly enough, strawberries do not actually have seeds on the outside. Those cute little yellow dots that we tend to think are seeds are actually the fruit. Weird, right?

Dangerous Fruit Seeds and Pits

You have probably heard that fruits contain toxic substances such as cyanide in their seeds. If you are wondering if apples are dangerous to eat, worry not. According to The Guardian, it is unlikely that you will eat enough apple seeds to poison you.

Here is what they have to say,

“Cyanide toxicity is experienced by humans at doses of around 0.5–3.5 milligrams per kilogram of body weight. Symptoms of cyanide poisoning include stomach cramps, headache, nausea and vomiting, and can culminate in cardiac arrest, respiratory failure, coma and death. A fatal dose for humans can be as low as 1.5 milligrams per kilogram of body weight. In a recent study, the amygdalin content of apple seeds was found to be approximately 3 milligrams per gram of seeds (one seed is approximately 0.7g).”

There are, however, some fruits that contain the toxic substance at higher amounts-like apricots. If you would like to know more, visit The Guardian via the link above. They include a convenient infographic to help you understand.