Celebrating the ‘love apple’

Tomatoes are just as highly regarded in Britain. They are the fourth most popular fruit eaten in this country and, thanks to tasting panels created by growers, ever more varieties are going on sale to meet consumer demands.

To celebrate the latest National Tomato Week, Food & Drink takes a look at the history and cultivation of this not so humble ingredient.

Wild roots The tomato is thought to have originated on the western slopes of the Andes mountains in Peru, where a number of varieties still grow wild. The tomato plant spread to Central America and Mexico, probably as a weed mixed with maize and rye seeds. It was here that it was first cultivated in about 700AD. An Aztec dish of tomatoes with chillies and squash seeds may be the world's earliest salsa recipe.

The tomato was brought back to Europe by the Spanish Conquistadors and was probably a yellow-skinned variety as they were referred to as golden apples'. The earliest written record was made in 1544 by Matthiolus, an Italian who referred to tomatoes as pomi d'oro', who said they were eaten with oil, salt and pepper.

Cautious beginning The first known occasion of tomatoes being grown in Britain was in 1554 but they were cultivated as ornamental climbing plants. Despite the fact that the tomato was already a popular foodstuff in Spain and Italy, the Elizabethans thought that the bright red colour of tomatoes was a warning signal and believed them to be poisonous.

Despite the appearance of the first British tomato recipe in the 1758 edition of Hannah Glasse's popular The Art of Cookery, suspicions about the tomato's edibility remained and even crossed the Atlantic when the tomato headed back west.

In one of the earliest recorded publicity stunts in 1820, a grower named Colonel Robert Gibbon Johnson announced he would eat a whole bushel of tomatoes in public to prove they were safe to eat. A crowd of thousands turned up to watch him perform this feat on the steps of the Boston courthouse.

Growing popularity Britain produces about 100,000 metric tonnes of tomatoes every year, about a quarter of the amount consumed in total. Tomatoes are now so popular that each person eats more than seven kilograms of the fruit every year. To meet demand, greenhouses specifically for growing tomatoes cover over 200 hectares and the industry employs over 3,500 people. The use of greenhouses allows the growing season to be extended from February to November.

The greenhouses used to grow tomatoes commercially are extremely sophisticated and computers control the air quality, irrigation and soil nutrient levels. These controlled environments allow growers to use natural predators to fight pests and use bumble bees to cross-fertilise the plants. In fact, the British tomato industry employs more than two million bumble bees every year.

From flowering to ripeness takes between 40 and 60 days depending on the variety and time of year and British tomatoes will be on supermarket shelves within three days of being picked.

There are generally six different varieties of tomato widely available in Britain: l Classic: the familiar round tomato that is the most popular in Britain and good for salads, grilling, baking, frying.

l Cherry and cocktail tomatoes: small, bite-size varieties that have a sweet, concentrated flavour and are ideal for snacking on, raw or cooked. There are gold, orange and yellow varieties available as well as the more traditional red.

l Plum and baby plum: so called because of their distinctive oval shape. Firm fleshed with less liquid in their centre, plum tomatoes are ideal for pizzas and pasta dishes.

l Beef tomatoes: very large round tomatoes, ideal for stuffing and roasting.

l Vine tomatoes: these can be any of the varieties mentioned above but are sold still attached to the vine which produces the distinctive tomato smell.

Fruit or vegetable?

One thing that has always dogged the tomato is the question of whether it is a vegetable or a fruit. The simple answer is that it is a fruit of the vine, a special structure that contains seeds, but in 1887, the US Supreme Court decided otherwise. The court had to decide whether tomatoes should be taxed as a vegetable under the 1883 Tariff Act and ruled that they could, deciding: "Botanically speaking tomatoes are the fruit of the vine, just as are cucumbers, squashes, beans and peas. But in the common language of the people, all these are vegetables, which are grown in kitchen gardens and are usually served at dinner in, with or after the soup, fish or meats and not, like fruits generally, as dessert."

Tomato facts:

l The largest tomato greenhouse in the UK covers 22 acres and is recorded in the Guinness Book of Records.

l Tomato pulp is very good for the skin and refreshes, tones and aids circulation and will restore acidity to the face after cleansing. For a home-made tomato face pack, make a paste of tomato pulp with yoghurt. Apply to your face and leave for 10-15 minutes before washing off.

l Tomato juice is an excellent hangover remedy because of its high vitamin C content.

l Tomato juice is also reputed to be a remedy for counteracting the smell of skunk spray.

l Tomatoes help combat bad breath by breaking down the volatile sulphur compounds (VSCs) responsible.

l To skin tomatoes, place them in a pan of boiling water for 15 seconds and the skins will peel off easily.

l Soon after the tomato was brought to Europe, it was called the Peruvian apple.

l The tomato is in the same botanical family as the potato, bell pepper, aubergine and petunia.