King of the Vine’
Sun-ripened and juicy, these luscious fruits of the vine have worked their way across virtually every country in the world. Appearing in salads and sandwiches, sauces, and soups, we enjoy them one way or another on almost a daily basis.
While we may consider the tomato to be quintessentially Italian, they, in fact, originated in Peru, and despite our current infatuation with tomatoes, history tells us that it wasn’t always so. As the tomato plant scattered westward, they were considered highly poisonous and used only for decoration, and it took a few brave souls to try them before their popularity grew exponentially. Once accepted as edible, tomatoes, or pomo d’oro‘as they called them, were eagerly adopted by 15th Century Italian cooks and quickly integrated into many classic dishes. In those days yellow tomatoes were more common than the bright red we know and love today, hence the name’pomo d’oro – Italian for golden apple.
One reason why tomatoes have become such an integral part of our diet is their adaptability. They seem to thrive in every imaginable climate and environment, making them a favourite with beginner gardeners and corporate growers alike. We find them flourishing in terra cotta planters on a high-rise balcony, in a carefully controlled greenhouse in cooler climates, or on sunny hillsides overlooking the Mediterranean. Such diversity of conditions has led to over 10,000 different varieties of tomato in a rainbow of colours including orange, purple, green, and even brown. Be it juicy Beefsteaks or plump Romas, every gardener has their favourite type!
Just as adaptable in the kitchen, cooks around the globe use tomatoes in a host of different ways; Freshly sliced in a homemade hamburger or salad, simmered on the back of the stove in a family favourite pasta sauce or blended into a creamy tomato soup. Tomato sauce is slathered on every imaginable meal by children the world over, and cherry tomatoes are eaten fresh from the vine – like candy. Tomato juice can be served by itself as a hydration boost or mixed in your weekend Bloody Mary. From every corner of the world, in breakfast lunch or dinner, there is no doubt that tomatoes are here to stay!
__________________________________________________________________
The Extra Juicy Bits
- The tomato is the most popular fresh produce in the world, with over 60 million tons produced per year.
- China is the word’s largest tomato grower, followed by the USA, Spain, then Mexico.
- A natural multivitamin, tomatoes are extremely high in lycopene, an antioxidant known to be good for the heart, and also packed with vitamins A and C, calcium and potassium.
- 600,000 tomato seeds travelled to the International Space Station and back before being grown in school classrooms across Canada as part of the ‘Tomatosphere Experiments’
- Bunol, a small Spanish city, hosts ‘La Tomatinathe largest annual Tomato Combat in the world where some 40,000 people throw 150,000 tomatoes at each other!
- The speed limit for Heinz Tomato Ketchup is 0.045 kilometres per hour – if this iconic sauce pours any faster that than, it is considered to runny and is discarded.
