Interesting Facts About Tomatoes

The tomato is a popular food item around the world.  But where did it come from?  Did people actually think it was poisonous at one point in time?  And is it a vegetable or a fruit?  Read more to learn the answers to these questions and more.

A Brief History

The tomato is native to South America.  From there, it spread to Mexico where it was grown and eaten by the Aztecs.  Early European explorers to South and North America brought the tomato back to Europe.  It was widely cultivated in Spain and Italy, before being adopted by the English. 

The first written evidence of the tomato in Europe was in 1544 by Pietro Andrea Mattioli, an Italian physician and botanist.  He referred to it as an herb called “pomi d’oro” or the “golden apple”.  The first cookbook that uses tomatoes in recipes was published in 1692 in Naples, Italy.  There is evidence that by this time the Spanish were widely using tomatoes in food dishes, however, it was not used by all cultures.  In Florence, Italy and surrounding areas, the tomato was not widely used for food until the 17th and 18th centuries.

However, in the 1600’s, Britain and main of its colonies did not eat tomatoes, as they believed that they were poisonous.  This belief was promoted by John Gerard in his book “Gerard’s Herbal” which was published in 1597, despite the fact that he knew the Italian and Spanish frequently ate tomatoes without ever being harmed.  This belief continued until the 1700’s, at which time the tomato was embraced and became very popular in a variety of food dishes in Britain and its colonies.  Tomatoes have remained popular throughout the world ever since.

Fruit or Vegetable? 

While tomatoes are actually fruits, the debate about whether they are fruits or vegetables continues because the tomato is often referred to as both. 

What is the definition of fruits?  Fruits are defined in botanical terms as a flowering plant that produces food with edible seeds.  In botanical terms, the tomato is a berry, which is considered to be a subset of fruit. 

However, the botanical classification system does not use the term vegetable.  Therefore, it is often defined by culinary terms.  Culinary terms distinguish between vegetables and fruits by when they are eaten in a meal.  Vegetables are eaten or served during the main course and fruits are eaten as a part of dessert.  However, vegetables are also defined by its edible parts, which for vegetables are the leaves, stems and roots. 

From the definitions above, the tomato is clearly a fruit because it has seeds and does not come from the leaves, stems or roots of a plant.  However, the desire to eat tomatoes as part of the meal means that it continues to be incorrectly referred to as a vegetable. 

Other Uses

Tomatoes are popular in food and in drinks but they do have other uses.  Here’s a short list of other ways that tomatoes can be used:

Bathing in tomato juice is an effective way to remove the smell if a skunk sprays you or a pet;
Wash your hair with them after swimming in a pool in order to remove the chlorine from your hair;
To tenderize meats; and
To clean copper pots instead of using harsh or abrasive chemicals.