You Say Tomato... I Say Pomodoro
Those tomatoes on your kitchen table, ready to be chopped and added to your favorite sauce, had to overcome a lot of obstacles to get there—historically speaking, that is. Though, most of us don't think about it now, household acceptance did not come easily for this fruit…or is it vegetable?
Even that question has been long debated, and to this day not fully resolved. No less than the US Supreme Court weighed in, in 1893, stating that though "botanically" the tomato is indeed a fruit—better yet, a berry—it must be considered a vegetable since it is not eaten as a dessert! ! But the confusion and misconceptions about this oft misunderstood fruit…or berry…or vegetable…go back much further. From the time of its first arrival in Europe in the 16th century, the tomato plant was greeted with mistrust and fear, surrounded by mystique. Some thought it was poisonous; others believed it had aphrodisiac properties. Stories of its use for esoteric purposes and witchcraft were told. But when finally, an Italian violinist and composer—Niccolò Paganini (1782-1840)—wrote about how to cook a ravioli sauce with some concentrated tomato, water, flour and dried mushrooms, people took note and slowly overcame their ignorance to today's beloved fruit.
A bit of history
Long before Columbus came to the New World, the tomato plant was growing wildly in creeping vines in the hills of the Andes, and being eaten by the indigenous peoples of the area we now call Peru. In the early 16th century, the Spanish brought the tomato to Central America and began cultivating it there. Though the future "king of Mediterranean cuisine"—as the tomato is now often called—arrived in Europe in 1523, it would be a very long while before it was offered a place at the table. Instead, it was scrutinized by curious botanists in European courts, and primarily appreciated for its ornamental qualities. It seems that for much of the 16th century, fear and superstition prevented most Europeans from actually eating the fruit. Only a few adventurous souls drank its juice, or ate it—fried in oil, with salt and pepper.
The first official mention of tomatoes in a culinary text doesn't appear until 1694, when an early gastronome named Antonio Latini bravely suggested cooking tomatoes with eggplant and zucchini to prepare "delicious braised vegetables." In the middle of the 1700s, there is evidence that English cooks used tomatoes for flavoring soups, but cautiously. For the most part, in Europe tomatoes were only à la mode among the bourgeoisie and aristocracy, as a luxury item, on a par with chocolate and tobacco.
But in the early 1800's, the earliest records of marketing tomatoes begin to appear in Europe. From that time onward, the diffusion of the plant in the Mediterranean region grew rapidly. By the beginning of the 19th century, the red berry became quite popular in Southern Europe, growing profusely in the southern regions of Spain, France and Italy. Then, as the century wore on and pasta and pizza became more and more commercially available, the tomato at last found its mates and worked its way into the heart of Mediterranean cuisine.
To your health
Tomatoes are said to be one of the most healthy and beneficial foods in our daily diets. Extremely low in
calories, they are rich in vitamins A and C, beta-carotene and potassium, as well as a great source of fundamental antioxidants, such as lycopene. The concentration of lycopene in tomatoes actually increases when sauces are cooked or tomatoes are processed in any way. Recent studies have shown that high intake of lycopene-containing vegetables reduces the incidence of certain types of cancer. In Italy, it's believed that tomatoes also help prevent cardiovascular diseases and acne, and aid in digestion - in short, a near-miracle food that benefits the whole body.
Try some of our favorite fresh tomato recipes:
