Tomato Solanum Lycopersicum
“Nothing like a fresh-picked, ripe Tomato” I hear that a lot, and I could not agree more.
Right along with Corn, Tomatoes seem to be a favorite vegetable. With good reason. Not only do they have a lot of powerful health benefits, but they are also extremely tasty and versatile in preparation and preservation.
From “as is,” on toast, which seems to be the favorite way of eating tomatoes, in a sandwich, to making soups, salads, and sauces, the possibilities are endless. Best of all, everything gets better with the inclusion of tomatoes, even the tomatoes. That doesn’t make sense? Yes, it does. Cooked tomatoes, especially with some healthy fats get a boost to their medicinal properties. The reason is fairly simple. The carotenes are a pro-vitamin A (the body converts it to A). And Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin. That is why carrot juice and milk are a good combo, but that is for another time.
First about some questions I get asked a lot. After that, I’ll talk a little about the health benefits, some interesting things, and I’ll even get to the so popular “Tomatoes are fruits” …. if you said “Berries” you are right. And I am sure you know, this fruit classification is true for a lot of vegetables. I, however, as much as I love vegetables, don’t expect or care to get vegetables when I order fruits for example. When you say fruit, I don’t think tomato or squash, and I’m pretty sure, neither do you.
Fun Fact, there has been a court ruling on that. But first things first…
Something that often gets asked. Should you refrigerate tomatoes? No. Not really at least. They should not be chilled below 55 F. Any colder and taste and texture will be negatively affected. Store them next to an air conditioner, or another cool place. Even if you want them to ripen some more because you bought extra “turners” (graduation of not all the way red) so you can have tomatoes throughout the week. They do not need a sunny window sill. That is a myth.
If you think you might not be able to eat a whole large tomato, it is better to get a few smaller ones, than to refrigerate leftovers. On the other hand, I feel refrigeration is definitely preferable to just tossing out a large part of a tomato.
To the Health benefits now. Some might not be completely understood. At least the way I see it. With Herbs, constituents are isolated and investigated, drugs are derived from that. Side effects are then an issue, which is not present with the whole plant. So we can focus on a tiny part, but remember, that is not all. There is much more to the whole, and some things can not be isolated and analyzed in a lab. Are the “constituents” of a Doctor different from a Carpenter? At one point in history they did actually look for that...not surprising.
In perfumery, we can now detect many, many trace scents in the tiniest percentages with chemosensors, gas chromatography, and even an electronic nose, and yet we are not able to accurately duplicate the scent of a flower. Still, all these things are indispensable in industry. We still have much to learn and discover, and that is true for everything. But back to tomatoes.
Tomatoes are famous for lycopene, which has been linked to a host of health benefits, including claims of helping with the prevention of heart disease and cancer. Tomatoes are also a good source of vitamin C, potassium, folate, and vitamin K and many other vitamins and minerals, several types of acids, mainly Citric Acid, Malic Acid, Ascorbic acid (Vitamin C), which, much like lemons help the body counteract excess acidity. One of the wonderful paradoxes of plant medicine and body chemistry…
Sugar (mainly glucose and fructose) and acid balance are closely connected, vary, and change greatly during the ripening process. This is responsible for the huge difference in taste between tomatoes picked green and allowed to ripen during the shipping process and the ones picked red from the vine. Our experience has shown that it is not necessary to wait until the tomato is all red. They are ready as soon as they have a good blush. Those are called “Turners” and are often preferable to complete red since those will be overripe quickly.
The acids are also closely linked to taste. Or it certainly seems that way. We find that many low-acid varieties just do not really have the much-loved tomato taste. They are tasty, just not if you expect “tomato.” Some people, unfortunately, do have health conditions that do not tolerate acidic foods and the low-acid variety is a good alternative for them. But we found an excellent tasting low-acid yellow tomato, after much experimenting, and have been growing that for quite a few years now.
The low acid tomato is also great for the different, fun colors in a dish, as well as introducing balance and interest in flavor.
BUT, unfortunately the yellow or green tomatoes do not have lycopene which is responsible for the red color.
Tomatoes are a large part of the much talked about healthy Mediterranean Diet. While those foods are amazingly healthy, and tasty, I also observe something much more important, and that is the attitude towards life and living, towards food and the way it is consumed. I’m only going to touch upon this, but I feel this is an important factor, much overlooked. It just might make all the difference.
Tomatoes are also used in Traditional Chinese Medicine, which is famous for their food cures. They are absolutely correct about food being the first medicine we should reach for since it is the mildest and most widely available.
Tomatoes are classified as “very cooling, sweet and sour, builds the yin fluids and relieves dryness and thirst; tonifies the stomach and cleans the liver; purifies the blood and detoxifies the body in general; encourages digestion…” from Healing with Whole Foods, Asian Traditions and Modern Nutrition by Paul Pitchford.
In “Chinese Natural Cures” Henry C. Lu describes Tomatoes as “slightly cold; sweet and sour; produces fluids; promotes digestion” and “good for thirst, poor appetite, hypertension, constipation”
The dosage seems to be agreed upon as one to two tomatoes twice a day. I purposely avoid the more medical information, or I will have to include a disclaimer. But - Just so we are clear, all this is for entertainment and educational purposes only.
Hippocrates, the “Father of Medicine” supposedly said, “Let food by thy medicine” but this is disputed. If he did not write it, he most likely said it- or should have, because it is. If it isn’t good for you, it is a source of disease and not food. Again another topic… Food helps immediately to bring energies back into balance. We intuitively already know the basics of this. On a really cold day, we want hot comfort foods. On hot days we crave cooling things. The one exception might be spicy things like hot peppers. They do warm in the winter but are excessively used in really hot climates. Why? They act as blood thinners in larger doses, which is essential to deal with heat. Cold climates do need thicker blood to deal with the cold. But generally, the average high protein consumption leads to a bit thicker blood then is healthy… so go ahead and spice up your tomato juice a bit if you can handle the heat...start slowly if you’re not used to spicy though.
Beyond that, it provides all the nutrients our body needs, and often those nutrients build custom orders to use for specifics that we don’t even commonly know about. Did you know that the body makes its own calcium, the only type it can efficiently use? It needs silica (in vegetables often in the skins, cucumber skin being the most famous), magnesium and vitamin D...a few other things, but those are most important...
Just for fun a little copy-paste clip from Wiki, in regards to “Is a tomato a fruit or vegetable?”
Yes, copy-paste, because if I told you, there is a good chance you wouldn’t believe me.
My kids often do not, until they research themselves. But then, that’s what I taught them...
“The tomato is the edible, often red, berry of the plant Solanum Lycopersicum
The species originated in western South America and Central America
While tomatoes are fruits—botanically classified as berries—they are commonly used as a vegetable ingredient or side dish.[3]
The word "tomato" comes from the Spanish tomate, which in turn comes from the Nahuatl word tomatl [ˈtomat͡ɬ], meaning "the swelling fruit".[
The scientific species epithet lycopersicum is interpreted literally from Latin in the 1753 book, Species Plantarum, as "wolfpeach", where wolf is from lyco and peach is from persicum. Tomatoes are not the only food source with this ambiguity; bell peppers, cucumbers, green beans, eggplants, avocados, and squashes of all kinds (such as zucchiniand pumpkins) are all botanically fruit, yet cooked as vegetables. This has led to legal dispute in the United States. In 1887, U.S. tariff laws that imposed a duty on vegetables, but not on fruit, caused the tomato's status to become a matter of legal importance. The U.S. Supreme Court settled this controversy on May 10, 1893, by declaring that the tomato is a vegetable, based on the popular definition that classifies vegetables by use—they are generally served with dinner and not dessert (Nix v. Hedden (149 U.S. 304)). The holding of this case applies only to the interpretation of the Tariff of 1883, and the court did not purport to reclassify the tomato for botanical or other purposes.
In Germany, we also call the tomato “Tomate” and “Tomaten” (plural).
I am tempted to move on to Tomato in beauty products, which I have made quite a few myself a long time ago, just because it seemed that it would make sense considering its properties, and Tomato is definitely a good candidate for even lotions and creams. I will, however, stop here.
It would be easy to write a book about tomatoes. I haven’t even touched the many questions about growing tomatoes. Maybe another time.
We hope to see you at the Market where you can search for and find your own perfect tomato, or try them all. We also offer very discounted canning tomatoes, so you can stock up on your own sauce, salsa, or maybe make some Minestrone.
One last tip, if you toss ripe tomatoes in a good blender you don’t need to peel them. Then you can either cook the sauce or just freeze it uncooked/raw. Tomatoes do really well with raw freezing. Then you can play with the sauce details when you have time, a portion at a time. What I like best about this...when I thaw out such a frozen tomato juice pack and it is a really hot day, it makes an awesome beverage. It really hits the spot. I have by now learned to take out another if I want to cook with it later… A sprig of Basil and/or Mint and you have perfection.
Enjoy.