A tomato is a multitude of contradictions. It’s a botanical berry sold as a vegetable; a seasonal delight forced into year-round duty; a ubiquitous presence in salad bars, burgers, and grocery displays. For those who don’t consider it a berry, it’s the second most consumed vegetable in the United States, yet it’s three times more likely to be eaten processed in forms like salsa, canned tomatoes or—disgustingly—ketchup, as it is to be enjoyed fresh.
The fruit/vegetable paradoxes don’t end with how modern humans cook and consume tomatoes; instead, it begins with their domestication. It is believed that the plant evolved in equatorial western South America. The Ur-tomato was about the size of a currant, so how did a tiny, bitter fruit from the New World become the tomato as we…
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Kitchen Table (Digital) - 1 Issue, Issue 6