#Tomatofacts

[factsride]

https://factsride.com/tomato-facts/

[qqri]

[xinesegalas]

Did you know that yellow tomatoes are less acidic than red ones? #gardeningtips #tomatofacts #growyourownyomatoes #growyourownfood #growfoodnotlawns #homegrownharvest #foodsecurity #foodindependence https://www.instagram.com/p/B96RTeoAk8Z/?igshid=104wdlmfcfqlg

[downtoearthmarkets]

Is it really summer at the farmers markets if we don’t take a moment and appreciate the glorious tomato?  It’s not, so here we are …

Over the years, we’ve often talked about tomatoes.  We’ve covered that local tomato season comes in two stages – hot house stage and field crop stage.  We’ve also written about the bright, attention-grabbing tomatoes that take up yards of display at the stands, in addition to their long-lost cousins – the sour green tomatillos and sweet, berry-like ground cherries.

Today we’re keeping things entertaining with “Fun Facts about Tomatoes.”

Tomatoes are the fruit of the tomato plant. Because the tomato has seeds and grows from a flowering plant, botanically it is classed as a fruit not a vegetable.

Do you think of tomatoes as quintessentially Italian?  Actually, they originated in the South American Andes around the area of modern-day Peru and was first used as a food by the Aztecs in Southern Mexico.

In 1887, U.S. tariff laws imposed a duty on vegetables, but not on fruits. This meant the status of tomatoes become a matter of legal importance. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the case of Nix v. Hedden that tomatoes were to be considered vegetables, based on the popular definition that classifies vegetables by use, where they are usually served with dinner and not as a dessert. However, the courts did not reclassify the tomato botanically, as it’s still a fruit.

State recognition!  Tomatoes are the state vegetable of New Jersey. They are the official state fruit of Ohio and tomato juice is the official beverage of Ohio. However, Arkansas took both sides by stating the South Arkansas Vine Ripe Pink Tomato as the state fruit and state vegetable, due to its culinary and botanical classifications.

There are more than 10,000 tomato varieties grown around the world.  Pretty much all tomato varieties are red.  However, other colors are possible including green, yellow, orange, pink, black, brown, white, and purple.

Tomatoes are rich in lycopene, an antioxidant that is good for the heart and effective against certain cancers. Cooked tomatoes are better for you than raw ones, as more beneficial chemicals are released. Tomatoes are also packed with vitamins A and C, calcium, potassium.

In the late 1700s, a large percentage of Europeans feared the tomato.  A nickname for the fruit was the “poison apple” because it was thought that aristocrats got sick and died after eating them, but the truth of the matter was that wealthy Europeans used pewter plates, which were high in lead content. Because tomatoes are so high in acidity, when placed on these plates, the fruit would leach lead from the plate, resulting in many deaths from lead poisoning.

The biggest tomato fight in the world happens each year in the small Spanish town of Buñol. The festival called La Tomatina, involves some 40,000 people throwing 150,000 tomatoes (which equals about 30,000 pounds of tomatoes) at each other.

The Guinness World Record for most tomatoes harvested from a single plant over one year weighed 522.464 kg (1151.84 lbs).  The tomato plant is at the Epcot Science project at Walt Disney World Company in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, USA. The harvest started on May 24, 2005 and ended on April 20, 2006. A total of 32,194 tomatoes were harvested.

Grown by Dan Sutherland (USA), the heaviest tomato weighed 10 lbs 12.7 oz (4.896 kg) when measured in Walla Walla, Washington, USA, on 15 July 2020. The achievement was authenticated by the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth (GPC).  The tomato was of the "Domingo" variety.  It had a circumference of 33 in (83.8 cm), contributed to by a number of outgrowths on the fruit known as "dingleberries" - a feature common to giant tomatoes.

So, whether you slice them for sandwich, toss them in salads, or cook them into sauces – tomatoes are delicious and good for us!

[patchofskyfarm]

Did you know: tomatoes are an excellent source Vitamin C and Vitamin K. They are also a very good source of copper, potassium, dietary fiber, Vitamin A (in the form of beta-carotene), Vitamin B6, Folate, Vitamin E, and Phosphorus. What does this mean exactly? It means that tomatoes are good for eyes, skin, teeth, and hair and a good source of ruffage to aid in digestion. These little guys are definitely resilient, too: despite a drought they still grew and ripened. If it's true that you are what you eat, eat some more tomatoes; grow and ripen despite the drought🌱🍅 #despitethedrought #grow #tomatofacts #nutritionfacts #patchofskyfarm #VT #culinarynutrition #culinarynutritionexpert (at Patch of Sky Farm)

[alesanavicente]

Ahahaha i'm #laughingsohard xD OMG! No one asked you Steve! No one asked you. Poor Steve! #tomato #tomatofacts #funnypics