And so let’s begin with some historical background.
The Tomato History has origins traced back to the early Aztecs around 700 A.D; therefore, it is believed that the tomato is native to the Americas. It was not until around the 16th century that Europeans were introduced to this fruit when the early explorers set sail to discover new lands. The tomato was quickly accepted throughout Southern Europe into the kitchen, yet as it moved northern Europe, the resistance was apparent.
For example, the British admired the tomato for its beauty, but believe that it was poisonous, as its appearance was similar to that of the wolf peach. “…most Europeans thought that the tomato was poisonous because of the way plates and flatware were made in the 1500s.
Rich people in that time used flatware made of pewter, which has a high-lead content. Foods high in acid, like tomatoes, would cause the led to leech out into the food, resulting in lead poisoning and death. Financially strapped citizens, who ate off of plates made of wood, did not have that problem, and certainly not an aversion to tomatoes. This is essentially the reason why tomatoes were only eaten by the less affluent until the 1800s, especially Italians.
But something changed in 1800. First, and most significantly, was the mass immigration from Europe to America and the traditional blending of cultures. Many Italian-Americans ate tomatoes and brought that food with them. But also, and perhaps equally as important, was the invention of pizza. There is no pizza without tomato sauce, and the pizza was invented around Naples in the late 1880s. The story goes that it was created by one restaurateur in Naples to celebrate the visit of Queen Margarite, the first Italian monarch since Napoleon conquered Italy. The restaurateur made the pizza from three ingredients that represented the colors of the new Italian flag: red, white, and green. The red is the tomato sauce, the white was the mozzarella cheese, and the green was the basil topping. Hence, Pizza Margherita was born and is still the standard for pizza everywhere.
It was not regarded as a kitchen vegetable until the times preceding The Civil War Period in the United States. From this point forward, tomatoes have become a staple item in the kitchen throughout the world. Each area of the world has its own tomato history and how it is used in everyday dining. It appears that tomatoes have had the largest impact on American eating habits, as they are responsible for enjoying over 12 million tons of tomatoes each year.
Then, of course, there is the eternal debate of: is it a fruit or a vegetable?
I guess that depends on whom you are asking. By definition, a fruit is the edible plant structure of a mature ovary of a flowering plant, usually eaten raw; some are sweet like apples, but those that are not sweet such as tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, etc. are commonly called vegetables.
Botanists claim that fruit is any fleshy material covering a seed or seeds, whereas a horticulturist point of view would pose that the tomato is a vegetable plant. Until the late 1800’s the tomato was classified as a fruit to avoid taxation, but this was changed after a Supreme Court ruled that the tomato is a vegetable and should be taxed accordingly.
When it is all said and done, the tomato history has classified as a poisonous beautiful plant, a tax-avoiding fruit, and a taxable vegetable. Nonetheless, the tomato is the most popular vegetable in America and enjoyed by millions worldwide.
