Fun facts about tomatoes

WORD ORIGIN

Tomatoes are native to the Americas and the indigenous people of

Central America and Mexico named the plant. The Aztecs called it

“xitomatli” and tribes in Central America called it “tomati.”

ACROSS THE DRINK

The Spanish conquistadors took the tomato across the pond where it

received cheers and jeers. The French liked it (some dubbed it “apple

of love”), the British were suspicious, confusing the plant’s foliage

with its poisonous cousin, nightshade.

FULL MOON FEVER

Germans seemed to see the nightshade resemblance also. A common

name for the tomato in Deutschland is “wolf peach,” a nod to German

folklore that suggests witches use nightshade to conjure up

werewolves.

WE’RE NO. 1

The United States leads the world in producing tomatoes. People in

this country chow down on 12 million tons of tomatoes annually.

That’s a lot of salsa.

WE’RE NO. 2

Florida is the leading fresh tomato-producing state. Sorry,

California. But we’re no slouches. Tomatoes are grown on 40,000 acres

of the state’s soil in the San Joaquin, Salinas and Imperial valleys

and in San Diego and Orange counties.

THE AVERAGE

You may ask yourself where does it all go? An average American

will eat 18 pounds of fresh and 70 pounds of processed tomatoes each

year.

BLIND ME WITH SCIENCE

Like any California celebrity, the tomato doesn’t go by its real

name. Lycopersicon lycopersicum is the common tomato’s scientific

name. The tomato is technically a fruit, not a vegetable. Generally,

the edible part of the plant that contains seeds is the fruit. A

veggie is the stems, leaves and root of a plant that you can eat.

GOOD STUFF

Tomatoes, like most fruits, are good for you. One tomato contains

plenty of vitamin C, potassium, fiber and beta carotene which the

body converts into vitamin A.

WHAT DO YOU SAY TO A SQUISHED TOMATO?

The word ketchup comes from the Malay term “kachap” which means

fish sauce. It’s taken a long time to get to ketchup. According to

Lynn Kerrigan’s “Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Ketchup,”

the bane of all gourmet chefs has been known by many names over the

years including: catsup, catsip, cotsup, kotchup, kitsip, catsoup,

katshoup, katsock, cackchop, cornchop and cotpock.

GREAT MINDS THINK ALIKE

Like tomato soup? Historically you’re in good company. John F.

Kennedy was a big fan of the tasty snack.