Nothing beats a delicious tomato fresh from your garden – but how did this culinary marvel originate?
The tomato hails from Central and South America and was brought back to Europe during explorers’ return voyages during the early 16th century.
Early American farmers such as Thomas Jefferson of Monticello famously cultivated tomatoes. Early apothecaries promoted them as an aphrodisiac, earning the fruit its popular moniker of pomme d’amour or love apple.
Origins
The tomato belongs to the nightshade family (Solanaceae). Over millions of years, it evolved from prehistoric nightshade plants in South America. Over time, its descendants gradually spread northward through Mesoamerica via the Andes Mountains and Mesoamerica’s Andean Passages. Mesoamericans first domesticated tomatoes when Aztecs introduced them into their cuisine using selective breeding to improve both appearance and taste – giving rise to what became known as xitomatl tomatoes; later apothecaries promoted them as powerful aphrodisiacs leading them further along their path (Smith 1994).
By 1544, tomatoes had arrived in Europe. Michiel, a Renaissance gardener from Venice who wrote a five-volume illustrated manuscript on Dioscorides’ De Materia Medica herbalist text in Italian (De Toni 1940) described a tomato plant with simple lobed leaves and depressed, deeply furrowed fruits (De Toni 1940) which could have grown either at his Padua home or Florentine estate; or possibly be sent via Seville port where many such vegetables from New World arrived (Jenkins 1948; Rotelli 2018).
The tomato‘s botanical identity is complex. Although technically classified as fruit, it is more often classified as vegetable by botanists. Botanists frequently debate how best to classify it; arguments in favor of classifying tomatoes as fruits have been put forward during heated debate. One notable case involved an individual challenging tariff laws by citing Nix vs Hedden (1893) as evidence that imported fruit must be labeled with their color rather than simply identified by number or code number alone.
History
Early seafaring explorers brought the tomato back from South America in the 16th century and were met with both curiosity and suspicion by Europeans who knew of its poisonous qualities; many called its fruit “poison apples”, leading many to discredit this South American staple until well into the 18th century.
By 1820, tomatoes had become a part of many cultures’ daily meals. While garden tomatoes became common across North America and Europe, its true significance wasn’t recognized until an eccentric grower consumed a basket full of red fruit on the steps of Salem New Jersey courthouse and delighted crowds by eating all at once!
Tomatoes have since been widely adopted around the globe and have become the world’s favorite garden crop. Thanks to intensive breeding efforts over time, there is now an astounding variety of tomatoes available, such as Paragon’s 1870s strain that produced large, smooth-skinned fruits.
The tomato belongs to the nightshade family (Solanaceae) and originated from Central and South America, where it’s found as perennials that self-pollinate their environments.
Early tomatoes found their way to Europe were small and golden-colored varieties known as pomi d’oro or mala aurea, earning them their unique name. Most likely grown by Michiel Ghini in his botanical garden at Pisa, these early specimens first made public appearance was in Matthioli’s Commentaries on Dioscorides published 1544 and herbarium collections as well as unpublished manuscripts are smaller and longer-leafed compared with modern varieties, suggesting they may represent an evolutionary variant from more diminutive Mesoamerican varieties.
Recipes
Tomatoes are easy to grow and provide home gardeners with an excellent return, not to mention that this delicious vegetable can be added into many recipes from sandwiches to pizza toppings and salads – they make every season taste better!
The tomato belongs to the nightshade family and genus Solanacae. Originating in Andean foothills, European explorers brought it back with them when they returned from South America with baskets full of fruits in 16th Century. At first used purely as ornamental plant and considered poisonous; its culinary use did not arrive until 18th Century European cuisine.
Apothecaries promoted tomatoes as powerful aphrodisiacs and nicknamed them pomme d’amour or love apples. By this point in history, tomatoes had become staple ingredients in numerous national cuisines.
Utilize fresh-picked garden tomatoes in recipes that showcase their flavor, from vegetarian entrees to salad dressing. Use your harvest of homegrown tomatoes before they spoil! These recipes offer summer inspiration.
A delicious tomato stew made with okra, onions, and garlic simmered to perfection is quickly prepared with vegan ingredients and warm spices, finished off by fresh lime juice for extra zest! Enjoy it as either a meatless meal or side for your next BBQ feast!
Varieties
Tomatoes come in an impressively diverse array of sizes, shapes, colors and flavors – from very small and red oblong varieties to larger plump ones with darkly hued spots or exotically shaped fruit that ranges in taste from sugary sweet dessert versions to tart citrus to smoky saltiness.
The tomato is one of the world’s most beloved horticultural crops, yet has taken longer to catch on in Europe. Early seafaring explorers brought specimens back from America; however, most Europeans were reluctant to try them as they resembled nightshade plants which they assumed to be poisonous.
Cultivation of the tomato has gradually overcome this resistance to its cultivation, becoming widely grown in every country with suitable climate conditions – it is now one of the world’s most-grown vegetables!
As with other plants from Lycopersicon, tomatoes are hermaphrodites with both male and female flowers that can be pollinated by wind, bees or insects. Pollen from male flowers fertilizes stigmas on female flowers to produce diploid zygotes that develop into fruit (see How Tomatoes Grow). Unfortunately, self-pollination may become interrupted when meiotic divisions in their ovaries produce ovules which interrupt self-pollination (see How Tomatoes Grow).
Gardeners can select from an assortment of tomato cultivars designed for specific uses and conditions, including those resistant to diseases like Verticillium wilt (V), Fusarium wilt (F), nematodes and Septoria leaf spot.
Many of these old-fashioned, “heirloom” varieties have been passed down through generations for their exceptional flavour or unusual appearance, while other cultivars were selected due to their productivity; Gardener’s Delight and Matina are two German heirloom varieties which consistently yield small red cherry tomatoes each summer.
Preparation
Garden tomatoes have become a mainstay in world diets, used in salads, soups, sandwiches and casseroles as a raw or cooked ingredient – raw being the preferred method. Tomatoes can also be grown easily without much care needed in containers or directly in the ground if grown as an in-ground crop; otherwise it requires watering regularly during hot periods when planted directly into soil.
At the turn of the 16th century, tomatoes were an unusual and exotic fruit found only in botanical gardens. Tomatoes were associated with members of the nightshade (Solanaceae) family – including hallucinogenic and poisonous plants such as belladonna and wolfsbane – making their appearance somewhat unlikely in human society. Their name “wolfpfirsich” likely refers to its round form resembling both peaches or werewolves.
Tomatoes are hermaphrodite plants, meaning that they produce both male and female flowers allowing for self-fertilization. Domesticating tomatoes required gradual shortening of their flower style from long and susceptible to outcrossing to shorter and virtually closed which allowed cultivated tomatoes to be classified as vegetables.
Nix v Hedden (1893), in which the United States Supreme Court determined the tomato as a vegetable, established that status and granted lower tariff rates than fruits for tomatoes as part of the definition of vegetables commonly understood as being food served alongside main meals and not dessert.
To maximize the flavor of homegrown tomatoes, cook them at a light simmer for just a few hours for maximum results and no mushiness.
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