The first tomato cultivated in Spain was the yellow tomato imported from the Yucatan Peninsula, around the year 1540 and it was called tomate. In Italy the tomato came through Morocco, in fact when the Moors were driven out of Spain in the 15th century, they took with them the tomatoes’ seeds. From there it was introduced to Italy and called pomo dei Mori, Moor’s apple. Pier Andrea Mattioli, a doctor and naturalist born in Siena, published in 1544 the commentaries on the Materia Medica, where he described the Pomo dei Mori as a golden apple, the Pomo d’oro because of the yellow color and he noted in Italy, peasants were eating it as a salad with olive oil, salt and pepper. When it was cultivated in France, they referred to the Pomo dei Mori with a name of similar sound and called it pomme d’amour, apple of love.

The original word tomatl was transformed in the English language as tomato. Around the year 1600, a variety of small red tomato was introduced first in Italy and afterward all over the Mediterranean area, where it grew abundantly. At that time the red tomato plants were considered ornamental bushes, and it was commonly believed that the red tomato was poisonous. It was not until the 17th century that the tomato was accepted as an edible fruit, it was commercialized and a large variety of tomato recipes, were introduced. There are many varieties of tomatoes and the most popular are beefsteak, a big fruit, almost round in shape, bright red, delicious raw in salad or cooked. Other common tomatoes are the globe and the plum, also called Italian plum, very good fruits to make sauces or an excellent salad. Brandywine, Cherry, Roma and many other types of tomatoes are available. Recently “the vine-ripened” tomatoes are sold widely and they are preferred for their taste and bouquet. In Italy, many varieties of the pear tomato are grown for canning and very famous is the San Marzano.

The tomatoes grown for salad vary from region to region. The beefsteak type is preferred, some other varieties are the Costoluto Fiorentino, the Maremmano, from Tuscany, the Romanesco, the Genovese, etc. In Sicily, all varieties are grown and very popular is the Pachino tomato, a sort of cherry tomato or the palla di fuoco, the fireball, both sought after for salad and to make sauces. 

Tomatoes should never be refrigerated because temperature below 50 degrees changes the consistency of the flesh and destroys its taste. To ripen tomatoes, place fruits in a paper bag with an apple, this way the ethylene gas released by the apple will help the fruits to mature. Sun-dried tomatoes are dried in the sun or artificially, the end product is a dry fruit, extremely flavorful. 

Tomatoes are a good source of the ascorbic acid; one medium size tomato contains 1/6 of the daily value of the recommended Vitamin C, we need in our diet. Ascorbic acid, also known as vitamin C, is important to metabolize protein, for collagen formation, wound healing, iron absorption and immune function. Our system needs to consume foods that contain this vitamin every day. Tomatoes are considered a high acid food item and there are no “low acid” tomatoes. Those with a sweet, non-tart taste are overripe tomatoes in which the taste of the acidity is masked by the higher sugar contained in ripen tomatoes.

In the USA it is used widely for soups, sauces and salads. Canned is conveniently prepared in a concentrated form, labeled paste. Tomato paste can be diluted to make or add to sauces. Also available are peeled, crushed or tomato puree, sometime aromatized with herbs and spices and in ready to use sauces for pasta condiment or to add to other preparations.

The benefits of the tomato to the human body are few but fundamental. The high content of lycopene present in the tomato has benefits that affect the risk of chronic diseases like cancer and cardiovascular diseases. In fact the lycopene, one of the most potent antioxidants of all carotenoids, is present in tomato more than any other fruit or vegetable and even more when the tomato is processed and the lycopene becomes more concentrated. So the consumption of tomato is associated with a significantly lower risk of prostate, breast, lung and other types of cancer, it also helps control coronary heart diseases and other chronic conditions that are the main causes of death in America and in Europe.