Evil
history of tomatoes
In the late 1700s, a
large percentage of Europeans feared the tomato. A nickname for the fruit was
the “poison apple” because it was thought that aristocrats got sick and died
after eating them, but the truth of the matter was that wealthy Europeans used
pewter plates, which were high in lead content. Because tomatoes are so high in
acidity, when placed on this particular tableware, the fruit would leach lead
from the plate, resulting in many deaths from lead poisoning. No one made this
connection between plate and poison at the time; the tomato was picked as the
culprit. The tomato was eaten by the Aztecs as early as 700 AD and called the
“tomatl” and wasn’t grown in Britain until the 1590s. In the early 16th
century, Spanish conquistadors returning from expeditions in Mexico and other
parts of Mesoamerica were thought to have first introduced the seeds to
southern Europe. Up until the late 1800s in cooler climates, tomatoes were
solely grown for ornamental purposes in gardens rather than for eating. Smith
continues: By 1822, hundreds of tomato recipes appeared in the periodicals and
newspapers, but fears and rumors of the plant’s potential poison lingered. By
the 1830s when the love apple was cultivated in New York, a new concern emerged.
The Green Tomato Worm, measuring three to four inches in length with a horn
sticking out of its back, began taking over tomato patches across the state.
According to The Illustrated Annual Register of Rural Affairs and Cultivator
Almanac (1867) edited by J.J. Thomas, it was believed that a mere brush with
such a worm could result in death. With the rise of agricultural societies,
farmers began investigating the tomato’s use and experimented with different
varieties. According to Smith, back in the 1850s the name tomato was so highly
regarded that it was used to sell other plants at market. By 1897, innovator
Joseph Campbell figured out that tomatoes keep well when canned and popularized
condensed tomato soup. Today, tomatoes are consumed around the world in
countless varieties: heirlooms, romas, cherry tomatoes—to name a few. More than
one and a half billion tons of tomatoes are produced commercially every year.
Give full
answers to the questions.
- What was the nickname for
tomato?
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- What was the real reason of
poisoning by tomatoes?
_________________________________________________________________________________________
- Who was the first to eat
tomatoes?
_________________________________________________________________________________________
- When were tomatoes brought to
Britain?
_________________________________________________________________________________________
- Were tomatoes grown for
ornamental purposes in the 18th century?
_________________________________________________________________________________________
- What helped tomatoes to become
popular?
___________________________________________________________________________________________
- Why were people so afraid of
green tomato worm?
_________________________________________________________________________________________
- What suggestion did Campbell
make to keep tomatoes well?
_________________________________________________________________________________________
- What varieties of tomatoes do
you know?
_________________________________________________________________________________________
- How many tomatoes are
produced every year?
_________________________________________________________________________________________
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