Is the tomato a fruit or a “veggie”? Meredith Sayles Hughes writes in Cool as a Cucumber, Hot as a Pepper: “It’s Official – Back in 1893, the tomato was officially declared by the U.S. Supreme Court to be a vegetable. The question had been hotly debated and arose because importers of tomatoes were annoyed at having to pay a tariff (tax) on all imported vegetables. Since there was no tariff on fruits, the importers attempted to have the tomato declared a fruit.

Description: Wild tomato plants were grown in the Andes Mountains in South America. It is believed that birds brought the seeds from South America to Mexico where tomatoes were cultivated by the Aztecs in about the 1500′s. The word, tomato, comes from the Spanish word, tomate. The Aztecs primarily used the tomatillo in their cooking rather than the red tomatoes as we know today. Conquistadors probably brought the tomato back to Europe where it was used with the eggplant. In Italy the tomato was known as pomo d’oro or golden apple for the yellow variety transported to Europe from the Aztecs. The French called the tomato pomme d’amour or apple of love. For many centuries, people believed that the potato and tomato were an aphrodisiac.

Tomatoes are used all over the world today. They can be found in Africa, Europe, South America, North America and China. China is the first country to make ketchup, known as ke-tsiap, which was a soy and fish based sauce. An American, James Mease, from New Jersey first made the sauce with tomatoes in 1812. Then the H. J. Heinz Company in Pittsburgh started selling Heinz Ketchup in 1876.

Nutrient content One size tomato is about 35 calories with 0 fat, cholesterol, or sodium content. It contains potassium, vitamin A and C along with calcium and iron. Contains more antioxidants than carrots. Researchers say that lycopene, an antioxidant found in large amounts of tomatoes, is responsible for the prevention of prostate cancer and other cancers. Also, lycopene protects the body against free radicals which degrade many parts of the body.

Peak season: Peak season for California grown tomatoes is May to December. Available throughout the year but in the winter months, you should use organically grown tomatoes for a better taste.

Selection: Tomatoes should not be too hard or too mushy to the gentle squeeze. You can smell to see if the tomato has a sweet smell. Also, the skin should be smooth and richly colored. It is preferable to home grow tomatoes or purchase from a local grower.

Storage: Never store a tomato in the refrigerator if it has not fully ripened since cold temperatures will destroy the flavor and retard the ripening process. It is okay to refrigerate a fully ripened tomato for a few days but only for a few days since a longer time period will deteriorate the flavor. Use fresh tomatoes within several days of purchase. Non-ripe tomatoes will continue to ripen for several days to a week for later use. To speed this process up, put tomatoes in a brown bag.

Preparation: Tomatoes can be stuffed, baked, stewed or grilled in dishes which range from soups to salads to salsas and omelets. They can be used in sauces, soups or chilis.

Tags: free radicals, veggie

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 16th, 2010 at 8:33 am and is filed under Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.