What is so wonderful about a tomato? I think of its round, plump and shiny exterior as well as its juicy and fruity interior. I think of the many dishes in which it plays the star role in Mediterranean cuisine. I certainly pay all compliments to its Original Creator. Still, this fruit comes down to us as something delicious fresh, juiced or cooked. The colors and varieties are astounding, to say the least. One of the easiest foods to grow, the tomato graces tables around the world prepared in a wide range of cuisines.
As known in recorded history, the Spanish distributed tomatoes far and wide in the Americas and Europe during the period of American colonization. Slight differences of the story give credit to specific individuals like Columbus and other explorers as being the ones to bring the tomatoes to Europe. Some say the first tomatoes grew small green fruits on vines in Peru. These small and green tomatoes were eventually cultivated and cross-bred as well as shared in Mexico and other Central and South American countries.
As seen in old cookbooks and in other books like the Little House Books, tomatoes on into the early 1900s were often eaten as fruit. They were canned with sugar and served in small saucers, topped with sugar sprinkles as a dessert. Some may still prefer tomatoes that way.
Still, stepping into today's western culture and cuisine favorites, tomatoes are extremely popular. Tomatoes are versatile, one of the most eaten foods in many households where they are commonly found prepared in the following ways:
- Salads
- Soups
- Beverages
- Pizza sauce
- Spaghetti and other pastas
- Meatloaf
- Ketchup on sandwiches, hotdogs and burgers
- Salsas and sauces for any number of uses
The list of dishes in which tomatoes are a main or contributing ingredient could easily keep on going for quite a while.
These fruits are one of the easiest of foods to grow and harvest in small home gardens. Seed catalogues usually carry more tomatoes than any other seed types they sell. Heirlooms are popular because the seeds of ripe fruits can be dried and saved for planting the next year. I am usually fascinated by the varieties of heirlooms I find in catalogues that have been grown for over a hundred years in European countries like Germany, Italy and Hungary. I have found that tomatoes easily germinate from seeds directly into the soil if the soil is kept moist the first few weeks after planting.
No matter whether tomatoes are grown in personal gardens or bought fresh or canned in the supermarket, they are a wonderful food to me. I love to fix them in numerous ways as I put together my favourite Mediterranean-inspired dishes. I love the different types like the bright reds large and small, the yellow ones and the pinks. Even still when I can choose my preference for fresh tomatoes, I select those grown in a small garden and cultivated with personal care and love.
Links for further information on tomatoes in history:
http://ag.arizona.edu/hydroponictomatoes/timeline.htm
