Tantalising Tomatoes
Tomatoes come in many shapes, sizes and colours – although you can’t possibly mistake a tomato due to its famous bright red colour. For years, there has been an argument over whether the tomato is a fruit or vegetable. Because the tomato is the ovary, together with its seeds, of a flowering plant: therefore it is a fruit! Mostly people serve tomatoes as part of a salad or main course of a meal.
Grow tomatoes
A greenhouse gives tomato plants a better chance of survival, but they can be grown outside provided they’re planted in the right conditions. To grow tomatoes outside, choose a sunny sheltered site in front of a south-facing wall. Plant out in the warm weather or early summer. Grow-bags are really good. Support each plant with a stake and feed them well, remembering to give them plenty of water when they need it.
Nutrition
Studies show consistently that the more tomatoes and tomato products people eat, the lower their risks of many different types of cancer. Experts believe the secret is in the lycopene, the chemical that makes a tomato red. The tomato is an excellent source of vitamin C (one medium tomato provides 40 per cent of the Recommended Daily Allowance RDA) and a good source of vitamin A (20 per cent of the RDA).
Origins
The tomato can trace its origins back to the early Aztecs around 700 AD and it is believed the tomato is native to the Americas. It was not until around the 16th century that Europeans were introduced to this fruit when the early explorers set sail to discover new lands.
