The tomato originally comes from South America. Genetics, a wonderful tracking tool, has traced tomatoes to the highlands of Peru. It migrated northward through Mesoamerican cultures. The name is derived from a Aztec language spoken in central Mexican, Nahuatl. When the Spanish explorers arrived in the early 1500's it was soon integrated into their diet and traveled with them as they journeyed to other parts of the world. Speculation suggests that Christopher Columbus may have taken some back to his native Italy but there is no evidence to support the idea. By the end of the 17th century however, tomatoes were in Italian cookbooks. As they already had pasta from China from the exploits of Marco Polo and his father, spaghetti and meatballs with tomato sauce could not have been far behind. It was used quite often as a decoration, possibly due to the erroneous thought of it being poisonous, the fruit still made its way around the world as Europeans established colonies in far off places. Today, known by many common names such as golden apple, American eggplant and European plum, tomatoes are enjoyed as a staple ingredient in many cultures. Oh, the city slicker counted the tomatoes on several plants today. Camouflaged in their green suits tomatoes they are living up to their Nahuatl translation of 'the swelling fruit'. Five, six, seven....Can I say Tomato sauce? Jerry
Jerry, in 18th and early 19th century America, tomatoes were known as "love apples" and thought to be decorative, but poisonous (as the leaves are, but not the fruit). Love them apples! If you need a recipe that makes a great vat of tomato sauce, just give me a holler!
