Eating tomatoes again, have you ever thought about what they are? Hardly what it is – after all, they are so accustomed, you can buy them in any store, even in winter, even in summer. In fact, these vegetables are quite interesting, besides, they are popular almost all over the world. Their various varieties are grown on all continents, except Antarctica, as well as on most inhabited islands.
- In the presence of moisture and nutrition, additional roots can form on any part of the tomato stem. The plant needs only a few days for this.
- Some varieties of tomatoes can grow up to 2 meters in height. And the height of the smallest of them usually does not exceed 30-35 centimeters.
- Choline, a substance found in tomatoes, helps lower blood cholesterol levels.
- In Mediterranean countries, particularly Italy and Spain, tomato-based cold soups are popular. For example, the famous gazpacho soup.
- Tomatoes are used as a seasoning and in dried form, and in 5-10 days of drying they lose up to 85-90% of their mass.
- Historically, tomatoes come from South America. There, wild varieties are still found in nature.
- Tomatoes came to Europe only in the middle of the 16th century, after the Europeans discovered the New World.
- The world’s first tomato-based recipe was published in a recipe book published in 1692 in Naples. At the same time, the author of the recipe claimed to have borrowed it from Spain.
- Scientists are working in many countries to develop new varieties of tomatoes. For example, when a cultivar was crossed with a wild tomato from the Galapagos Islands at the University of California, it was possible to obtain a cultivar with a salty taste. Experiments have shown that salted tomatoes grow well on sandy soils when watered with sea water.
- For a long time, tomatoes were considered inedible and even poisonous, and therefore gardeners grew them as an exotic ornamental plant.
- In the first place in the production of tomatoes, and by a huge margin, is China. India and the United States follow.
- Every third tomato in the world is grown in China.
- The pulp of ripe tomatoes in folk medicine is often used to treat wounds and burns. Fast healing occurs due to the high content of so-called plant antibiotics in the pulp of tomatoes – phytoncides, which prevent infection from developing.
- At temperatures below +10 degrees, tomatoes lose their ability to reproduce, and the plant dies without leaving fruit.
- Under suitable conditions, tomato seeds can be stored for up to 6-8 years without losing germination.
- Unlike some other vegetables and fruits, green and unripe tomatoes, when picked, ripen well on their own.
- From a botanical point of view, tomatoes are not vegetables or even fruits, but berries.
- For a long time it was believed that the tomato is an aphrodisiac, but studies have shown that this is not the case.
- Tomatoes are rich in fiber and vitamins A and C.
- The world’s largest tomato was grown in the USA, in the state of Wisconsin. He weighed a whopping 2.9 kg.
