You think you all know Tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum & cultivars), but did you know?…
· When first introduced to European culture many people thought they were poisonous and so only grew them as ornamentals, but later became known as the love apple, with aphrodisiac qualities attributed to them.
· For a while they were dubbed “poison apples” because aristocrats fell ill after eating them off pewter plates (acidic tomatoes leached lead from the metal).
· There are over 10,000 tomato varieties – These include wild, heirloom, and hybrid types, in colors ranging from red to yellow, orange, green, purple, black, white, and even striped.
· Though native to western South America, the domesticated tomato emerged in Mesoamerica, particularly by the Aztecs.
· Are they fruits or vegetables? Botanically, they are a fruit (a berry, in fact!), but classified as a vegetable.
· In a festival in Spain called La Tomatina, people throw about 150,000 tomatoes at each other every year.
· The heaviest tomato ever recorded weighed over 10 pounds – It was grown in Oklahoma, USA, and broke records for tomato size.
· There are approx. 10,000 varieties found of Tomatoes!
· The first Tomatoes were probably yellow, not red.
· Tomato skins and seeds have industrial uses – They’re now being explored for bio-based plastics, skin care ingredients, and functional food components.
· Tomatoes are in the Nightshade family and some people feel they have sensitivities to this family. Sensitivity reactions are reported as a range of symptoms including digestive problems and inflammatory issues.
· There is some evidence that eating a lot of Tomatoes can increase your sun protection.
· Nutritionally, Tomatoes are important sources of vitamin C, potassium, folic acid and the carotenoids, such as lycopene.
· Research has associated Tomato consumption with reduced risk of a number of health conditions, including obesity, high blood sugar, high cholesterol, and cardiovascular conditions.
#tomato #ethnobotany #biodiversity
*This content is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to provide medical advice or to take the place of such advice or treatment from a personal physician.