Tomato, or “Love Apple”, One of a Few Fruits Which is Used as a Vegetable

Despite being a fruit, one of the items you’ll rarely find in a traditional fruit basket is a tomato. Tomatoes are used in salads, sauces, ketchups and as garnishments for sandwiches or other plates as a vegetable and one of the reasons that may be true is that tomatoes don’t typically possess the sweetness associated with most other fruits. Nonetheless, the tomato is a fruit which is believed to have originated in the Andean regions of central and north South America.

The tomato plant spread to Central and North America along with corn during human migrations to North America over 2,000 years ago. European explorers discovered “tomatas” growing in Mexico and brought them back to Europe in 1523 where they were considered poisonous (and dangerous) due to their strong odor and bright red berries.

Tomatoes were first used as food by the Italians who considered the tomato to be an aphrodisiac and called the tomato the “love apple”. In the late 1700’s Italian immigrants to the United States were the first to include tomatoes as part of their regular diet. French settlers in the same time period used tomatoes as ketchup. Thomas Jefferson is thought to have been the first president to cultivate the tomato in his garden in 1781.

Tomatoes are a good source of Vitamin C, Beta Carotene, Folate and Potassium. The Lycopene in tomatoes is an antioxidant that is known to protect against some cancers. Tomatoes have been used to treat dyspepsia, liver and kidney ailments, and constipation. Only negatives are that tomatoes may cause allergies, indigestion or heartburn.