The mistaken idea that tomatoes were poisonous probably arose because the plant belongs to the Nightshade family, of which some species are truly poisonous. The strong, unpleasant odor of the leaves and stems also contributed to the idea that the fruits were unfit for food.
Tomatoes were apparently feared in The USA for many years because of a rumor spread early on that they contained tomatine, a chemical compound that could be harmful for humans.
But while today we think of tomatoes as inextricably linked to Italian food, that hasn't always been the case. In fact, it was only during the 19th century that tomatoes really hit the tables of the Bel Paese. Before that, it was widely thought they were poisonous.
You may have heard that tomatoes were considered poisonous by all but a few Americans until the mid-1800s.
While Native Americans had been consuming them for centuries, tomatoes quickly gained a bad reputation in the Americas. Colonists believed tomatoes to be poisonous, and virtually no one of European descent dared eat the fruit until the early 19th century for fear of death.
As the story is told, it was Colonel Johnson who on September 26, 1820 once and for all proved tomatoes non-poisonous and safe for consumption.
Tomatoes, shortly after their introduction to the western world, were long considered to be a poisonous fruit. After all, red in nature usually means danger. What is this? Also considered to be a “sinful” food due to its mild aphrodisiac properties, the tomato didn't get much love between the 1500's – 1800's.
Before tomatoes, the Italian diet was largely similar to the diet throughout the rest of the Mediterranean. Bread, pasta, olives, and beans were all staples, and Italians also made a variety of different types of polenta.
Legend has it that tomatoes were tossed at actors at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, but it just wasn't the case: Tomatoes didn't even appear in English cookbooks until 1752, so no one would've had them on hand to pelt performers in the 16th century.
Hedden, 149 U.S. 304 (1893), is a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States in which the Court held, 9–0, that the tomato should be classified as a vegetable rather than a fruit for purposes of tariffs, imports, and customs.
Tomatoes
Tomatoes were a staple of the Aztec diet, as well as the paper-skinned husk tomatoes known in Spanish as tomatillos (Physalis peruviana). In Nahuatl, the Aztec language, tomatoes are called tomatl, which the Spanish translated as tomate.
The reasoning behind this tradition was that tomatoes were seen as a symbol of poor quality and thus, throwing them at someone would be equivalent to telling them that they were not good enough.
The Spanish first introduced tomatoes to Europe, where they became used in Spanish food. In France, Italy and northern Europe, the tomato was initially grown as an ornamental plant.
1521. Europeans first came into contact with the domesticated tomato in Mesoamerica where it was an integral part of the Nahua diet and culture. The Spanish conquistadores introduced the tomato to Europe after the capture of the city of Tenochtitlan by Hernán Cortés in 1521.
The festival is in honor of the town's patron saints, Luis Bertran and the Mare de Deu dels Desemparats (Mother of God of the Defenseless), a title of the Virgin Mary.
Lasagna, which we all eat today with great pleasure, is among the oldest Italian dishes. Like most Italian dishes, its origin is contestable, but finally the Italian Culinary Academy declares the lasagna recipe of the Emilia-Romagna region as the original and classic.
Though tomatoes are now kind of an essential in the Indian Cuisine but there are so many more dishes that do not need tomatoes. Tomatoes were introduced from South America. Instead of tomatoes, we Indians used tamarind, raw mango, amla, ber, pomegranate, and many other fruits for the sweet-sour taste.
In the early 16th century, Spanish conquistadors returning from expeditions in Mexico and other parts of Mesoamerica were thought to have first introduced the seeds to southern Europe. Some researchers credit Cortez with bringing the seeds to Europe in 1519 for ornamental purposes.
Until the mid-1800s, people in the United States and Europe avoided and even feared them. Tomatoes are a member of the nightshade family of plants, which many Europeans historically considered to be toxic.
Tomatoes love the sunshine. A position in full sun (that means an average of at least eight hours a day) gives the best results in most areas, though if you're in a hot climate you can get away with dappled shade.
Decades of commercial growing have altered the tomato's genetic makeup, turning it from a once-sweet fruit into today's relatively tasteless sandwich topper. Now, a new study has uncovered which flavor-enhancing genes have been lost, giving growers a "roadmap" to breed tastiness back into their tomatoes.
While it's true that tomatoes are members of the nightshade family, they actually produce a slightly different alkaloid called tomatine. Tomatine is also toxic but less so. However, when ingested in extremely large doses, it may cause gastrointestinal problems, liver, and even heart damage.
The company Calgene manipulated the genes of the tomato so the ripe fruits wouldn't get soft and mushy that fast. In this way the tomatoes could ripen on the stems all the way and didn't have to be harvested too early.
Because tomatoes lack the significance in Chinese culture that they hold in Italian culture—as a symbol of nationalism—tomatoes are not used to the degree that they are in Italy. The cuisines of both nations also feature strong variation depending on the region.
While today, we commonly associate the tomato with Italy, the fruit did not originate in Europe, but rather in South America. The first tomatoes were brought to Europe from what is today Peru by Spanish conquistadors, where it was being called tomatl, an Aztec word that is a very clear influence for the word tomato.