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FUN FACTS / TIPS AND HISTORY ABOUT TOMATOES


      In 1893, the United States Supreme Court ruled the tomato was a "vegetable"and
therefore subject to import taxes.  The suit was brought by a consortium of growers
who wanted it declared a vegetable to protect U.S. crop development and prices. Fruits
at that time werenot subject to import taxes and foreign countries could flood the market
with lower priced produce.

      Early Spanish explores found tomatoes in Mexico and brought them back to Spain. 
Then botanists recognized them as cousins to belladonna and deadly nightshade and
pronounced them poisonous.

      FACTS: 
  • Lycopersicon lycopersicum is the scientific term for the common tomato
  • Botanically, tomatoes are a fruit.  This is because, generally, a fruit is the
    • edible part of the plant the seeds, while a vegetable is the edible  
    stems, leaves, and roots of the plant.
  • Tomatoes belong to the same family as nightshade, the tomato's deadly cousin.
 
                A LITTLE TOMATO HISTORY                                                         

    The tomato is native to the Americas.  It was initially cultivated by Aztecs  and Incas as
early as 700 A.D. Europeans first saw the tomato when the Conquistadors reached Mexico
and Central America in the 16th century.  Tomato seeds were taken back to Europe where
they quickly found favor in the    Mediterranean countries of Spain, Portugal and Italy.

     As the tomato traveled north, it was veiled in mystery.  The French called it "The Apple
of Love,"  the Germans "The Apple of Paradise," but the British, while admiring its brilliant
red color, disclaimed the tomato as a food--they believed it was poisonous.  This same fear
persisted among colonists in the United States until the early 19th century; but in 1812, the
Creoles in New Orleans put their cooking on the map with their tomato-enhanced gumbos and
jambalyas.  The people of Maine quickly followed suit, combining fresh tomatoes with local
seafood.

      By 1850, the tomato was an important produce item in every American city. People were
planting tomatoes in their home gardens, while farmers commercially produced fresh tomatoes
throughout the year.  When cold weather halted local production, consumers relied on areas
with temperate climates to furnish their supply of tomatoes.