Where do you think tomatoes originally came
from......the grocery store or a friend’s backyard garden?
It appears to have come from Peru long before the 15th
century when it was considered to be just a weed....but
after the 15th century it became an important crop. Eight
species still grow wild in the Andes Mountains in Peru.
Back then the migrating native Indians thinking
they were trading only for seeds of (Click to Enlarge)
Photo: Joani MacCubbin
corn and beans accidently received a few tomato seeds that
grew as weeds with the beans and corn. From there they
were spread throughout South America and into Mexico. As
time passed it was finally figured out that those weeds
produced some very tasty fruit.
The Spanish
explorer Cortez came to Mexico in 1521, tried the tomato
and decided it was a good thing to pass on. It was a
yellow variety and soon after it made it’s way to Europe.
It didn’t get back to the United States until the
arrival of early colonists from England. It wasn’t brought
here as a vegetable or a fruit .but an ornamental plant
only. Finally in 1781 Thomas Jefferson served them at a
meal.....along with if you can believe this.....French
Fries. Not long after the tomato’s arrival here it was
found to be of great nutritional value.
Even at
that time some people still felt that the tomato was
poisonous....... (Click to Enlarge)
Photo: Joani MacCubbin
So.....in 1820 some brave soul decided to make a final
test in front of the Boston Courthouse. His name was
Colonel Johnson and he said that he would eat a bushel of
tomatoes.....thousands of people gathered to watch him
die.....but he didn’t. Is that a good advertisement or
what???
The canning of tomatoes began in the early
1920's. They extracted juice and canned the peeled
tomatoes. Then a man named Joseph Campbell entered the
picture. He jumped into the many possibilities of tomatoes
and in a short time tomato soup made Mr. Campbell a very,
very rich man....
Tomatoes weren’t even considered
a kitchen vegetable until shortly after the Civil War here
in the U.S.....in other parts of the world tomato history
was taking place, too. Like in Naples, Italy in the late
1800's when pizza was first invented. Also in the late
1800's a little controversy began here in the U.S.....is a
tomato a (Click to Enlarge)
Photo: Joani MacCubbin
fruit? or a vegetable? ‘Botanists’ claimed that a fruit is
any fleshy material that covers a seed....from a
‘Horticulturist’ point of view they said it was a
vegetable. I would not have wanted to get into that
discussion. It was first classified as a fruit to avoid
taxation...but then it was changed after a Supreme Court
ruling that said....the tomato was a vegetable and should
be taxed.
As more time passed tomato types changed.
The high solid content of them has been increased to make
tomato paste and other canning purposes. This has also
helped with products like ketchup and spaghetti sauces.
The University of Florida researchers are working to
produce high lycopene cultivars of tomatoes. Lycopene is a
strong anti-oxidant which could help reduce cancer risk.
They also contain other health benefits. They are very
high in magnesium, niacin, iron, phosphorus, potassium,
riboflavin and thiamin. A University of California study
placed the tomato as the single most important fruit or
vegetable in our diets.
The United States is the
top tomato producing country in the world with more than
200 square miles under cultivation. Florida, California
and Georgia lead at the top of the list.
Even
people today who do not like tomatoes at all...love foods
like BLT’s, a nice bowl of Chili, a big plate of spaghetti
and of course PIZZA! Tomatoes have come a long way
since their discovery.....from being a poisonous vegetable
to their current popularity and having the largest impact
on our eating habits. After all is said and done...the
tomato is the most popular vegetable here in America and
we eat over 12 million tons of them every year.
And more gardeners will grow them......even if they don’t
like them.
