Real Food Encyclopedia | Tomato
If there is one fruit that’s one of our most beloved vegetables, it’s the tomato (Solanum lycopersicum). Yes, you read that correctly: Tomatoes are fruit, botanically speaking — berries, to be exact — though they are culinarily treated like vegetables.
Fruit or vegetable, so many cuisines would be vastly different without tomatoes — from Mexican to Middle Eastern, South Asian to Southern European. Tomatoes left the Americas for the first time in the 16th century; by the 19th, Italy was canning tomatoes in large amounts and the U.S. had solidified its love of ketchup. Pretty amazing that in just a few centuries, this versatile ingredient has charmed its way into so many cultures.
Fun facts about tomatoes:
- The word “tomato” comes from “tomatl,” the word for the fruit in Nahuatl, which was spoken by the Aztecs. It may be related to the verb “tomana,” meaning “to swell.”
- Tomatoes are a member of the Solanaceae family, also known as the nightshades. While many edible plants, like the potato, fall into this category, some nightshades — most famously the belladonna — can be deadly. When tomatoes first arrived in Europe, many there were wary of eating them.
- Tomatoes were also linked to the mandrake, another member of the nightshade family and a traditional aphrodisiac. It is hypothesized that this connection is behind the original English term for the fruit: “love-apple.”
- The very first genetically engineered (GE) food marketed for human consumption was the goofily named “Flavr Savr” tomato, first sold in 1994. It didn’t catch on. (No GE tomatoes are currently on the U.S. market.)
What to look for when buying tomatoes
Tomatoes come in a wide variety of colors, including purple, yellow, orange, red and various striped combinations. There are even varieties that are green when fully ripe, though “green tomatoes” more often refers to underripe fruits (which are sturdier and better for things like frying and pickling). There are also many shapes and sizes. Some types — like cherry and grape tomatoes — are quite small. Some, like beefsteak tomatoes, are quite large. Roma, plum, and many other kinds of tomatoes fall somewhere in between.
Look for fruit that is unblemished and free of bruised or soft spots. A tomato should be firm to the touch and hold its shape when (gently) squeezed. Tomatoes continue to ripen after being picked, so keep this in mind when shopping. If you are not going to use them for a couple of days, choose fruits that are on the firmer side and allow to ripen on the counter.
Sustainability of tomatoes
Pesticides
In the U.S., many tomatoes are grown in vast monoculture expanses of industrial farmland. Herbicides, fungicides and insecticides are used extensively in industrial tomato production. Tomatoes and cherry tomatoes rank No. 13 and No. 17, respectively, on the 2023 Shopper’s Guide from the Environmental Working Group, which evaluated 46 produce categories for pesticide residue.
Labor
In addition to the risks of pesticide exposure, tomato pickers often work in terrible conditions to harvest this labor-intensive crop. Forced labor and trafficking are concerns: In late 2021, the Biden administration formally accused two major Mexican producers of labor violations, including “abusive working and living conditions.” In Florida, where most of the country’s winter tomatoes come from, a group called the Coalition of Immokalee Workers has been working for decades to change the way workers are compensated and treated, including through its groundbreaking Fair Food Program.
Water
Tomato production has been impacted by the water crisis in the West. The same is true of the industry in Mexico, a major exporter, where even organic tomatoes have historically contributed to local water table depletion.
There have been several multi-state outbreaks of salmonella involving tomatoes, with contaminated irrigation water the likely culprit.
Seasonality
Tomatoes are available in the supermarket year-round due to the preponderance of hothouse varieties. But in most places in the U.S., the very best tomatoes are found at the farmers’ market in summer and early fall. At the end of the season, look out for a glut of green tomatoes — farmers frequently harvest the green fruit before the first frost, knowing they won’t fully ripen as the weather cools.
Geography
Tomatoes are native to South America, descended from a tiny berry that grew wild in the Andes Mountains. They were domesticated by the Indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica, and were brought to the Caribbean and Europe by the Spanish in the 16th century during the colonization of the Americas.
2022 data from FAOSTAT shows China as the leader in global production of tomatoes, followed by India, Turkey and the U.S. Florida and California dominate the U.S. production of tomatoes.
Eating tomatoes
Storing
Refrigeration causes tomatoes to become mealy, so they are best stored on the counter. Once ripe, they are best eaten within three to four days. (An exception is smaller tomato varieties, like cherry, which do just fine stored in the fridge and will keep for more than a week.)
Cooking
Look into what tomato variety works best for your dish — or vice versa — before you get started. Tomatoes are equally tasty raw or cooked and are extremely versatile in the kitchen, shining in everything from sauces to salads to soups to savory baked goods. They can be stuffed, sautéed, roasted or, especially for green tomatoes, fried. Their natural culinary mates are other edible members of the nightshade family — try them in ratatouille with peppers and eggplant — and they also pair well with eggs, cheese, meat and fatty fish (such as tuna).
To quickly peel a large batch of tomatoes, as for canning or sauce-making, score a very shallow “X” in the base with a sharp paring knife. Drop in boiling water for 10 to 15 seconds, then transfer to an ice bath to cool. The skins will slip off easily. (Don’t throw them away: They make a great addition to vegetable stock!)
Preserving
To extend their shelf life, you can make tomato sauce (and can in a water bath) or turn them into jam or tomato paste — a kitchen staple used in all sorts of dishes. If you want to keep them more whole, tomatoes are great pickled, dried or oven-roasted and stored in oil.
Nutrition
Tomatoes are a relatively good source of Vitamin C. The fruit is also rich in antioxidants called carotenoids, including beta-carotene, which converts to Vitamin A in the body, and lycopene, which has been studied for possible anti-cancer activity.
Top photo by letterberry/Twenty20.