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Tomatoes originated in Central America. When they were taken to
Europe in the 1500's, people were afraid to eat them because they belong
to the Nightshade family of plants. Tomatoes did not become widely used
until the early 1800's.
Italian cooking without the tomato is hard to imagine. The tomato
reached Italy in the 16th century by the way of Naples, which was a
Spanish possession at that time. The Italians called it pomodoro,
or golden apple, most likely because
it was an orange-yellow variety.
Red tomatoes were taken to Italy from America by two priests two
centuries later.
Today, tomatoes are still being grown on vines. However, scientists have
also created a new tomato variety that can be chemically ripened and
machine harvested. In 1992, bioenengineers created a gene-altered
tomato that stays firm longer so it can remain on store shelves for
a longer period of time!
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![[Love Apples!]](images/SOC19_1.jpg) Did you know...? Tomatoes were called love apples, because of a superstition that eating a tomato would make one fall in love!
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