Garden Corner - Tomatoes - What about tomatoes?

It was cultivated in Mexico and Peru for centuries before the European conquest.

Spanish explorers brought back seed from South America, but the plant was grown merely for ornament; it was known as the love apple.

Technically the tomato is a fruit, although it is commonly considered a vegetable because of its uses.

It was described as a salad ingredient before 1600.

It was reintroduced to the United States as a food plant c.1800 and now ranks third among our vegetable crops.

Tomatoes went to Supreme Court on February 4, 1887. The case: are they a fruit or vegetable.

All parts of the plant but the fruit are toxic.

The top five tomato producing countries of the world are United States, China, Turkey, Italy and India, in that order.

Plus :

An average sized tomato supplies you with....

About 40 percent of the vitamin C,

20 percent of the vitamin A,

and 10 percent of the potassium that you should get in a day.

Not to mention that the red tomato varieties are rich in lycopene, a very powerful antioxidant. And amazingly heat-processed tomatoes, like cooked tomatoes, sauces, etc., will give you more of a boost of antioxidants -two to four times more than fresh tomatoes. Wow!