Tomatoes originated in South America. Tomatoes then spread to Mexico and became a source of food of the Aztecs.
Early European explorers who came to North and South America and then brought the tomato to Europe.
This plant is widely cultivated in Spain and Italy, before being adopted by the UK.
The first written evidence of tomatoes in Europe was recorded in 1544. The record was made by Pietro Andrea Mattioli, an Italian physician and botanist.
The first recipe that uses tomatoes was published in 1692 in Naples, Italy.
In Florence, Italy and the surrounding areas, tomatoes are not widely used for food until the 17th and 18th centuries.
Interestingly, in the 1600s, the British do not eat tomatoes because they believe that the fruit is poisonous.
This belief was promoted by John Gerard in his book "Gerard's Herbal", published in 1597. When in fact, the Italians and the Spanish eat tomatoes without the slightest poisoning ever.
The British began to eat tomatoes in the 1700s and soon became the main ingredient in a variety of their food.
Fruit or Vegetable?
Tomatoes are actually classified as a fruit, although many people consider it a vegetable.
Fruit is defined as the part of the plant that contains seeds and edible.
While vegetables are generally defined as part of the plant that includes leaves, stems, and roots are edible.
Other Benefits of Tomatoes
Tomatoes are not only used for food and beverages. Here is a brief list of the benefits of tomatoes:
• Taking a bath with a mixture of tomato juice is an effective way to eliminate odors from pets
• Wash your hair with tomato juice after a swim in the pool can remove chlorine from hair
• Tomatoes can be used to soften the meat
• Tomatoes can be used to clean the furniture of copper instead of using harmful chemical cleaners.
