The Rehabilitation of the Tomato
In the seventeenth century, while Britain and America staunchly avoided eating the tomato, in southern Europe, the fruit was undergoing a renaissance. In 1692, the earliest known cookbook containing tomato recipes was published in Naples. Most of these recipes were of Spanish origin. However, what had undoubtedly encouraged the Italians’ to adopt them was the proliferation of new tomato varieties that were taking root in Italy. Favorite examples included Pomodorino del Piennolo del Vesuvio; the “hanging tomato of Vesuvius”, which was itself the by-product of other Italian hybrids such as Fiaschella, Lampadina, Patanara, Principe Borghese, and Re Umberto.
Finally, in the eighteenth century, the British began to eat tomatoes again. Once more, they became an elite dish. An end of century entry in the Encyclopædia Britannica refers to the tomato as being “in daily use’ in soups, broths and as a garnish. Markets sold the fruit widely. However, the tomato was not for the ordinary people. It was used only the “best cooks” implying the fruit was of interest only to the privileged few. In recognition of this renaissance, in 1754, the tomato was declared an edible species of Lycoperscion, transforming its name into Lycopersicon Esculentum- the edible wolf peach.
However, it took a while for the American’s to trust the tomato. While they continued to grow tomatoes as ornamental plants in their new homeland (the herbalist William Salmon reported in his Botanologia of 1710 that tomato plants were cultivated for this purpose in North Carolina), they still were still refusing to eat them. After the war of independence, Thomas Jefferson reputedly brought the seeds back from Europe and began to grow them on his own estate. However, the tomato was not widely accepted in America until the nineteenth century.
By the 1800s, mass immigration from across Europe and most notably southern Europe led to a new attitude towards the tomato in America. Italian immigrants, in particular, helped with this, especially after the invention of the tomato-based pizza in Naples in 1880. The margarita pizza as it became known was named after Italy’s new Queen and was modeled on the red, white and green flag of the newly united nation. It also quite literally put tomatoes on the culinary map.
But the fruit’s popularity was revolutionized mid-century by Alexander Livingston, a farmer who was the first person in America to develop different strains of tomato and grow the fruit as a commercial crop. Livingston’s first variety, the Paragon was introduced in 1870 and by nineteen hundred, he responsible for 17 strains of tomato. In 1937, the federal Department of agriculture credited Livingstone with revolutionizing tomato growing in the US. By this time, tomatoes were being grown all over the country- and were widely appreciated. The tomato’s days in the wilderness were finally over.
Where did we find this stuff? Here are our sources:
Smithsonian.com: Why the Tomato Was Feared in Europe for over 200 years.
Tomato Cages.Com: Tomato History.
Planet Natural.com: History of Tomatoes.
Modern Farmer: From Poison to Passion- The Secret History of the Tomato.