Roses are red, and violets are blue but what have you heard or know about tomatoes? Red round fine shaped fruit right? known to the Italians as the (GOLDEN APPLE), the French as the (Love apple), and the apple of the moors by the Arabs. And do you know we have different types of tomatoes? do you know its history, health benefits, and product that are made out of tomatoes, is it a fruit or a vegetable? Well, you’re on the right page.

FUN FACTS ABOUT TOMATOES 

Tomato is one ingredient you can find on many diets and recipes for people of different cultures and traditions for making different mouth-watering meals. Tomatoes have so many health benefits and contain more than one vitamin such as Vitamin C and k, Folate, and potassium, interesting right?

Tomato belongs to a specie called (solanum Lycopersicum) a flowering plant of the nightshade family (Solanaceae). It is cultivated extensively for its edible fruits although it is labeled a vegetable for nutritional purposes. A large percentage of the world’s tomato crop is used for processing products such as dehydrated pulp, tomato juice, puree, paste, sun-dried tomato, and ketchup. Now I’m getting your attention right? Stay with me that’s not all. Tomato species originated in Andes mountains of South America mainly in Peru and Ecuador but were domesticated in pre-Columbian Mexico. The name is derived from Nahuat ( Aztec Word tomaltl, the Italians were the first to adopt tomatoes as food, and the roots and leaves are poisonous because they contain neurotoxin solanine.

There are other fun facts about tomatoes that you don’t know and you will be interested in knowing through this blog after reading this, you might want to check the nearest grocery or local farm shop to get your fridge stocked up with tomatoes, plenty of it, and it’s okay you can thank me later. Giggles.

IS TOMATO A FRUIT OR A VEGETABLE?

Two of my friends had this heated argument about tomato being a fruit or a vegetable after one of them saw the other one eating raw fresh tomato and said “that’s a healthy vegetable you have there ” it was a long day due to their argument that ended up in research if you can imagine what I mean. So what do you think is it a fruit or a vegetable? well, keep reading to find out.

What is a fruit? according to agriculture and the dictionary, a fruit is defined as the edible part of a plant containing seeds, such as tomatoes while a vegetable is a stem, leaf, or root. Even though in the 1890s the US supreme Court named it vegetable for taxation. From the definition, a tomato is known to be a fruit and not a vegetable even though you might not find a tomato in a fruit salad rather you will find it in a vegetable salad. So I believe we have successfully established the fact that a tomato is a fruit and not a vegetable, let’s move on.

GUINNESS BOOK OF WORLD RECORD TOMATO. The guineas’ work record for most tomatoes harvested from a single plant in one year was 32,194 tomatoes harvested between May 2005 and April 2006 and the plant weighed 522.464kg (1151.841bs) amazing right?

THE FIRST TOMATOES  PRODUCED WERE GOLDEN IN COLOUR

wow, can you imagine that they were called love apples by the French because they saw them as an aphrodisiac due to their small golden and cherry-like appearance?

THE SPACE: have you been to space before? I guess it’s a no but do you know about 600,000 seeds of tomatoes have traveled to outer space before being grown in classrooms?

CHINA: according to research China is known to be the largest producer of tomatoes historically accounting for an approximate quarter of the world’s total production. Then USA and India are the second and third highest producers respectively.

COLOURS OF TOMATOES 

Believe it or not, tomatoes are not always red, instead, they come in different colours, types, and varieties such as yellow, pink, purple, black, and even white, surprised right yeah me too. We only get to see the red ones due to quality standards but if you check grocery stores and local farm stores you will find might find these colours.

VARIETIES: there are over 10 thousand varieties of tomatoes and there are thought to be more than 3000 varieties of heirloom or heritage tomatoes currently being grown globally and more than 15,000 known varieties in total.

HEALTH: Tomatoes are very rich in lycopene, they are the richest source of lycopene available. Lycopene is a chemical compound a powerful antioxidant with many health benefits including sun protection, improved heart health, and a lower risk of certain types of cancer and also important for the health of the prostate gland in men. It is also responsible for the red and pink colours in fruits and this is found in tomatoes. Look at that.

Tomatoes also contain some anti-inflammatory properties and are linked to general heart and brain well-being. They are a good source of potassium, which is Studies also find out that lycopene reduces bad cholesterol (LDL) and also increases good cholesterol. It also improves fertility in men. This is amazing.

Hope you find this article exciting, interesting, and beneficial. Please do well visit our site for more.

You can also tell us what you know about tomatoes in our comment section.

NOTE: I’m not a nutritionist all the information in this article is solely based on research

Have an amazing new year!!!!

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