The Dangerous History of Tomatoes

In this video, we look at the history of tomatoes, from its earliest development, to a time in which it was feared, to the modern day.
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[@hylacinerea970]

my great grandmother hadn’t tried tomatoes until she was an adult, she immediately demanded her husband grow some which he kept up for the next 30 years :)

[@brianshissler3263]

Growing tomatoes is by far the best way to enjoy them! One of the most fun plants to grow

[@LifeAdviceSite]

That’s a good husband! 🥰

[@PiousMoltar]

I was raised on the tomatoes my granddad grew in his greenhouse. Still the best tomatoes I've ever tasted.

[@lakrids-pibe]

​Frish, ripe tomatoes from the garden are so much better than anything from the store.

[@robot_6183]

I’m the 200th like :D

[@deusexvesania1702]

12:46 Agreed. Many store-bought tomatoes taste like nothing while tomatoes from "grandma's garden" almost taste like a whole different plant.

[@HSstriker]

Use them to make tomato sauce for home made pizza. Best pizza youll ever eat!

[@beebop9808]

Retail tomatoes are picked when they are hard and green. At best they will have a pink dot on the bloom end when picked. It's all about shelf life for the retailers. Quality was sacrificed for profits long ago and has only gotten worse over the years. Tomatoes will never ripen to there potential being picked so green and will often rot before even getting their color and softening. Refrigeration also retards ripening and alters flavor and they are almost certainly chilled on their way to the stores or shortly after arriving. I never buy tomatoes retail. I refuge their plastic tomatoes. lol They're too easy to grow and so delicious they make you giggle to bite into one. :)

[@jimmyblais1502]

So true, absolutely yummy.

[@mymothersdiva]

The ones of us who have had gardeners, in the family, or are one themselves, are spoiled. My mother loved to have her hands in the dirt. She always planted tomatoes around my porch in the spring. Tomatoes all summer!

[@thomasjcorson4758]

Genetically modified with fish genes get heirloom seeds

[@erinkelley6005]

I'm loving the variety lately. Sometimes we get cryptids, sometimes we get traditional history, sometimes we get food. It's all great.

[@saultopaul3981]

My daughter’s name…Erin.

[@erinkelley6005]

@@saultopaul3981 Lol, you and my mom both have good taste. Is that your daughter in your profile picture? She's a cutie.

[@saultopaul3981]

@@erinkelley6005 Her name is Hesitian. She was a student of mine in Shanghai. She cried the day I met her! It was so upsetting for me, but she grew to be my best student. ..such a beautiful little girl!

[@jhtsurvival]

@@erinkelley6005 random persons name on KZbin I've never met.... Erin

[@erinkelley6005]

@@jhtsurvival I thought @Saul to Paul's response was sweet.

[@johnmurkwater1064]

"The unpleasant smell of the plant..." That's something I'll never understand, I grow tomatoes in my greenhouse and I absolutely love the smell of them.

[@pannajohns5255]

Haha I'm the complete opposite, I literally gag at the smell of tomatoes

[@deplorablecovfefe9489]

Yea, I didn't get that either....

[@vauhner81]

I was like this when I was younger, I really hated the smell. Now I love it.

[@langreeves6419]

Yeah, I feel the same way about cannabis

[@juliaf_]

I guess it's just preference. Comparably, I find cannabis to smell absolutely vile and nearly intolerable when concentrated, but manyyy people somehow manage to smoke it

[@cursedcancersurvivor]

Wait, some people *don't* like the smell of tomato vines? I've always found the smell strangely comforting. Reminds me of warm summers, milling about in my Grandmother's garden.

[@slcRN1971]

Growing up, I ate many tomato sandwiches during their growing season- looked forward to those fresh ones every year. The store bought tomatoes, usually just don’t measure up to the fresh ones. Those freshly picked tomatoes, right out of the garden give the best taste. I try to get the yellow tomatoes because they are have a much lower acidic content and taste great too.

[@toomanyopinions8353]

It. Awesome sense evolutionarily. The vines ARE poisonous.

[@whogavehimafork]

@@slcRN1971 I have never eaten store-bought cherry tomatoes that tasted even HALF as good as a husky cherry tomato right off the vine. I grow them right outside the front door so I can pick one or two off the vine when I leave for work

[@whogavehimafork]

Tomato plants just SMELL like summer. I didn't know anyone found them unpleasant

[@joylox]

I always start growing my plants inside as I live in a colder climate with shorter growing seasons, and once I smell the plants, I know it's successful and in another 3 weeks or so, they're ready to plant outside (weather permitting).

[@dixonhill7526]

My father, born in the 1920's, ate a tomato as a young boy of about three. He wound up being extremely allergic to them, and his airway closed up, causing him to almost suffocate before they managed to get him to a hospital. According to my grandmother, the doctor told her that such an allergic reaction to tomatoes was quite rare, but that sufferers often died before they could get help, due to the swelling caused around the windpipe. She says he told her, "That's why they're called love apples--because of the idea that star-crossed lovers could commit suicide by eating them. People used to think they were poisonous because of early cases in which people died from this type of allergic reaction." So, another possible reason folks thought they were poisonous.

[@emergencylowmaneuvering7350]

And the enemies of "The Spanish Empire" called it "A Spanish bad food". Even many Italians did that until the late 1600's. Later on as tomato became famous food, they claimed tomatoes as their own invention. For over 100 years, they were named in europe as "Spanish Tomatoes". Then Italians started calling the same thing as "Italian Tomatoes". Liars..

[@outwiththem]

@@emergencylowmaneuvering7350 Like those "Italian Buffaloes" for "Mozarella Cheese". They are not Italian. They are the same that the Spanish brought to Italy from Philliphines in the 1600's. Same Asian Water Buffalos".. Dam liars claim even telephones, computers and airplanes "They created". Dam Dirty Liar Mafiosos".

[@douglassun8456]

That makes me wonder if such a reaction, rare though it is, might explain the belief that FoL describes, that tomatoes were poisonous. Allergic reactions can kick in quickly enough so that the connection with eating tomatoes could be made, and death by suffocation is pretty theatrical - something that would get your attention.

[@HenryLoenwind]

@@douglassun8456Add to that the gene pool of nobility is quite limited and any genetic predisposition to such an allergy, if it's in there, would likely be widespread...

[@SeanMahoneyfitnessandart]

As a resteraunt server, I can tell you tomato allergies are actually quite common... i get customers all the time with a tomato allergy

[@mrskitkatlady]

I won't eat a commercially grown tomato. My dad grew them when I was a kid and they tasted good. Store bought tastes like nothing. So now I'm an old woman and I grow a few plants every year. I like the yellow varieties, a little less acid.

[@ManLikeEddy]

Good choice I would like some natural tomatoes

[@dontworry4945]

The lack of lycopene makes things less acidic for me too. If I eat too many red fruit it gives me heart burn

[@JohnnyAngel8]

I find that commercially grown tomatoes have a better taste if they are not immediately refrigerated. They need to be allowed to ripen FULLY and eaten at room temperature.

[@langreeves6419]

@@JohnnyAngel8 never refrigerate tomatoes

[@juliaf_]

@@JohnnyAngel8 refrigerating tomatoes alters their flavour, and doesn't seem to make them keep much longer if at all. It's better to just keep them out on the counter or something

[@simenon5929]

I actually have a story about tomatoes that survived in my family. The grandfather of my great grandfather brought home tomatoes from the market for the first time which my great^6 grandmother wouldn’t have known how to cook with back then, so she did the usual English thing of making it into a pie like they were apples or something. Safe to say it probably didn’t taste that good but it’s still pretty cool that, that story survived so long.

[@zachk.2125]

Tomato pies are actually delicious, they just need to be seasoned as a savory pie. Find a recipe online and give it a try

[@grimace4257]

RoachdoggJr, I hate to be the one to give you this bad news but your dad is really your cousin he got fat and made a fool of himself on KZbin.

[@simenon5929]

@@grimace4257 I actually knew that, I did some investigating, to figure out who's face that was. XD

[@LindaC616]

When I took students to Argentina a couple of them were vegetarian or vegan. They made tomato and cheese empanadas for them, which are like small hand pies

[@BigBodyBiggolo]

@@LindaC616 i thought vegans didnt eat dairy?

[@mariotrejos7236]

Wild tiny tomatoes grow naturally in open areas, so I guess people started domestication with those growing in corn fields, I remembered my grandparents picked them from the milpas during dry season when corn in the milpas was already harvested

[@raychauvette1467]

Yeah and I'm sure that's also how they became round, because older tomatoes exterior looks almost like a pumpkin while the cherry tomatoes have a round shape. My thinking is they overtime selected bigger ones and now we're have modern day tomatoes.. something I don't enjoy

[@zelloking]

Legend your history pendejo

[@FC-hj9ub]

It's really hard to imagine Mediterranean cuisine without tomatoes yet it's relatively modern

[@BonaparteBardithion]

Same with peanuts in Southeast Asian food and potatoes in Ireland and the British Isles. Not to mention chocolate. A lot of iconic plants came out of South America.

[@ramonramos2402]

@@BonaparteBardithion chocolate, vanilla, and corn came from Mexico which is part of North America Not South American

[@BonaparteBardithion]

@@ramonramos2402 Chocolate was widely distributed through Mexico and that's certainly where Europeans got their ideas for its uses, but current research indicates the cacao tree originated from around Peru. And you're right about corn. I wasn't trying to discount North America's flora.

[@ramonramos2402]

@@BonaparteBardithion ok true but chocolate is a specific type of food that's from the Mayans Cacao trees might come from the Amazon but chocolate as a food is Mexican

[@BonaparteBardithion]

@@ramonramos2402 That's true. I probably should have used cacao instead since I was talking about them in raw plant form.

[@sergpie]

I’ve been growing a line of San Marzano, Costoluto, and Zapotec tomatoes from seeds I bought like 15 years ago. They beat the crap out of store-bought ones and grow like weeds in California.

[@Potatotenkopf]

Zapotec stronk

[@thedemonhater7748]

I’ve wanted to get into gardening for years, though I don’t know how well the tomatoes grow in Jersey.

[@RockandrollNegro]

They grow fine in the Northeast. Make sure they get plenty of light.

[@Truthseeker0071]

Those Costolutos are serious.. i recommend Amish Paste if you're looking for another heirloom line its a giant plum variety

[@steveneardley7541]

I had no problem growing tomatoes in northern Vermont, but would get Early Girl, because it has a short growing season, and is very reliable. Cherry tomatoes taste great, and are actually easier to grow than the bigger varieties.

[@Lillian2167]

Fun fact: Potatoes belong to the same family of plants and if they ever get fruit from their flowers (usually from cold weather) you should never eat them as they are extremely toxic. The fruits on Potato plants look exactly like green tomatoes, so maybe that's where the rumour of tomatoes being poisonous came from? Someone may have gotten the plants mixed up and ate them not realising what they were.

[@christinegreenwood4093]

Peppers are also nightshade vegetables 🌶

[@rubynibs]

Tomatoes can cause all-over body rashes and inflammation. People with autoimmune disorders, for example, are advised to stop eating tomatoes and everything else in the nightshade family, such as potatoes.

[@franchi8601]

@@christinegreenwood4093 tobacco is also a night shade family as is hot peppers and eggplants. ALL of the leaves of the 'New World' nightshade plants are poisonous. 2 cigarettes of wild tobacco flower tops can kill a person. The native indian shaman (and the shamans only) would smoke enough tobacco flower tops to go into a comatose trance for divination reasons. Go and figure the logic of the British fascination for tobacco and potatoes.

[@mikedaniel1771]

@@rubynibs This is a myth. In fact, tomatoes contain lycopene, an antioxidant with anti-inflammatory properties. I have arthritis myself and even though I eat loads of tomatoes they do not cause inflammation.

[@rubynibs]

@@mikedaniel1771 Tomatoes contain a lot of things that are good for us, but people with autoimmune disorders are warned off eating tomatoes. Some can eat them, but for those with autoimmune issues, it's best to eliminate everything from the Nightshade family to start with. This is no myth; it is typical protocol for those with autoimmune disorders. Plants in the Nightshade family can increase inflammation and disrupt the gut microbiome. Again, it's no myth. With all the information at our fingertips, it's easy to find out the whys and wherefores of the avoidance of tomatoes for those with autoimmune disorders.

[@rueisblue]

I love this series. People often forget just how different the world as a whole was to our ancestors. This is such a good reminder

[@thatoneguynextdoor8794]

Here in Austria they are called "Paradeiser" which from what I know comes from the word "Paradeisapfel/Paradiesapfel" which mean "Apple from Paradise"

[@lakrids-pibe]

Confusingly, in my area 'paradisæble' is a crab apple - Malus baccata.

[@thatoneguynextdoor8794]

@@lakrids-pibe Oh? That's interesting

[@krono5el]

@James F. they didnt have tomatoes, potatoes, corn, turkey, clean water, or good health, there whole existence. that doesnt kick ass : P

[@caseyanderson516]

I'm a cook and love your videos, i think it is very important to know the history of the food you eat and cook with in order to truly appreciate them

[@cathymetal2099]

Yes you are right...and how are you doing over there

[@srice6231]

My great grandmother who was born around 1865, thought they were poisonous. My great grandfather would go next door to their Italian neighbor and eat all kinds of tomatoes and foods with tomatoes and she always was worried he would die...and of course he never did.

[@mpetersen6]

You mean he's still alive

[@oneshothunter9877]

@@mpetersen6 Old fella'.. 😊

[@christiangrady1291]

Lucky! 😜 Sounds like their neighbors were the Flammels. Nickolas was reported to produce the elixir of life from the philosophers stone. Lol

[@DanskerneFraDanmark]

Dammm he Gota Ole to Day

[@booglez7223]

They taste bitter as fuck to a lot of autistic people. That bitter taste that is picked up is similar to poison and hits that natural response to spit it out. I know of plenty of people who swear they taste like poison. Seems an easier leap to make about the poison relation, rather than being related to poisonous plants, I'd think it's because they taste like drain cleaner. Less of a leap mentally.

[@das-too-bad-ig]

growing tomatoes has always been a family tradition. We can't stand store bought ones so we always grew hundreds of plants so we could can, make juice, and make salsa for all our neighbors. My favorite kind of tomato is a Cherokee purple. They are so juicy, sweet, and make perfect sandwich sized slices! They are heirloom tomatoes that allegedly came from seeds given to a family by the Cherokee generations prior that were eventually shared with a man who sent them to someone to cultivate them in modern times. Tomatoes are awesome!

[@briantaulbee6452]

Love me some Cherokee purple tomatoes. I did try growing black tomatoes one time. Unique color but it didn't taste any different than a red tomato. Store bought tomatoes suck. I rarely eat them myself. My neighbor came up with some fresh grown this summer and I was in heaven lol. Sliced thick and some black pepper. Yeahp.

[@lindatisue733]

Tomatillos are an underrated vegetable. They grow okay in Sweden. They keep for months, picked the last before an October frost, I am still eating my harvest in December. They are so nice on sandwiches.

[@pattoneill2402]

I was raised an Air Force brat and had travelled widely as a child. My mother took me back to her home in rural Mississippi 65 years ago when her brother died, and I encountered Southern cooking for the first time. But one of my favorite foods was missing -- tomatoes. I asked for some and my rural relatives were horrified, telling me they were poisonous and called them "love apples." I said that I ate them all the time and they were delicious. Now, of course, tomatoes are widely accepted. Yum.

[@bonsaget8917]

I am loving this series,an element of history I never even have much thought to and now I’m fascinated by it

[@tinymetaltrees]

If you would enjoy books like this then look up Mark Kurlansky. He has several food history books that I enjoyed reading.

[@talon7132]

I know , I live where I see tacos for sale everywhere. Gets me to want to know history of tacos

[@Getcakedieyoung23]

These fruit and vegetable videos are always the most interesting

[@richardhanes7370]

I watch them all and I don't know why they're so interesting 😂

[@CristianRacansky]

Hi, I'm Mexican and study food history. In Nahuatl, the "L" at the end of a word is silent. So Xitomatl would be pronounched "Shitomat" and not "ShitomatL".

[@Fireoflearning]

Thank you, I'll keep this in mind next time

[@viciousyeen6644]

Different topic, but I always wondered why we won’t write words as how we speak them. Why write an X or a mute L if we never speak them like that?

[@Cephlin]

Languages change over time, and yet the spelling once formalised is set in stone

[@sitizenkanemusic]

Yeah its kinda like any non indo-european language that is translated using roman letters- it sometimed is a victim of the time it was transcribed. I think the L served as a type of stop that the Spanish heard the Mexica speak but had no way to depict, so they used an L.

[@roberttelarket4934]

Cristian Racansky: Really? No shit!

[@musicman9901]

As a preserver of Heirloom tomatoes and peppers this was very informative. I currently have over 80 types of heirloom peppers and tomatoes each and am constantly on the lookout for plants handed down through families and other historic plants for their stories, unique flavor, colors, shapes and growing attributes.

[@howiefeltersnatch2973]

That's awesome! Ever breed any? I had an 7th gen cross of a Yellow Pear and a Roma vf that I lost unfortunately. It seemed very stable

[@musicman9901]

@@howiefeltersnatch2973 I'm planning on doing some breeding when time permits. Gets to be a bit hard to focus on that when I have 130+ tomatoes growing in my small yard. I am wanting to develop some crosses with my favourite tomato, the Japanese black trifele, and then stabilize them into new heirlooms.

[@victorha9923]

I never paid closer attention to the individual characters in "fan qie" whenever I said "tomato" in Chinese, so I never realized I was calling it "foreigner's eggplant" all these decades (it IS obvious, however, now that I'm aware). Wow. Didn't expect you to tell me a fact about tomatoes I didn't know. You win

[@monicakitty9243]

'xi hong shi' - western red persimmon

[@mikusoxlongius]

Flower Bridge, Biden

[@Shinzon23]

Is it just me, or is nearly everything in Chinese that deals with anyone/anything not ethnically Han Chinese subtly (or not even subtly) Racist?

[@victorha9923]

@@Shinzon23 Do you mean the "fan" part of fan qie? To me it just means "foreign" and not "barbarian." I'm far from an expert in Chinese linguistics, so I don't know how offensive "fan" could be. It's a term from antiquity, and the ancient Chinese dynasties were far and away the most advanced civilization in their region, if not in the world at certain points in history, so it reflected in some of the terms used. I'm born and raised outside China, but I would like to believe that the majority of modern Chinese are humble people and are welcoming to foreigners, but of course there will always be exceptions.

[@Shinzon23]

@@victorha9923 Hmmn. Just wondering, because I've had to punch too many people who call me a Gwailo in the stomach....I'm not a "white ghost barbarian"....

[@HiltTilt]

Been growing heirloom tomatoes past 2 years, very neat plants! I used to hate tomatoes as a kid, now I love them.

[@desertodavid]

Glad you're growing up.

[@inharmonywithearth9982]

Tomatoes have so many shapes, colors and flavors.

[@illbeyourstumbleine]

Same here, though I never hated tomatoes, but there is nothing like your own heirloom grown from your garden. We go to a seed trade every year. We will bring some of our more rare seeds and bring home at least 1 rare seed for our land. We have 2 types of apple trees that most of our guest have never had. Pretty cool to watch them get so much joy out of an apple!

[@masterson0713]

@@illbeyourstumbleine i LOVE apples

[@illbeyourstumbleine]

@@masterson0713 well if you're ever in the Kentuciana area you can stop by for one lol

[@Aquila476]

I swear, I already knew this, so many of our most cherished fruits and vegetables come from the Americas! Guess the climate is just perfect for gluttnony-inspiring foods.

[@Alusnovalotus]

No wonder. Northern Europeans never look happy in most historical depictions.

[@LindaC616]

@@Alusnovalotus Haha! I teach Spanish and I always surprise my students with all of the things that come from the America's. And I ask them what they honestly think people in England, France, and Italy were eating before potatoes, tomatoes, and pasta

[@quetzalcueyat]

@@LindaC616 teach them the language where those words come from to begin with. It's called nahuatl.

[@LindaC616]

@@quetzalcueyat I teach them, indeed, where those words came from. 👍 I cannot teach them those languages (taíno, quechua, náhuatl,etc) as I don't speak them 🙂

[@FireAllOfEverythingAtOnce]

I wonder how many of those individuals that died after eating tomatoes were allergic to them (like me). I can't eat them, or even have very thin sauces with them in. Very small amounts (like a quarter of a ketchup packet), give me symptoms similar to very bad lactose intolerance. When I was around 4, a single slice of tomato gave me anaphylactic shock. Yes, that means I have pizza, spaghetti, and even lasagna without tomatoes or tomato based sauces. It's not easy to find places that will even try to make it without the sauce, and instead substitute some kind of a cream one, so I almost always just end up making it myself.

[@alakhazom]

I grew up in South eastern europe and spent my vacations in the country-side,where my grandparents had a garden full of them. It is true that I abhorred the ones sold in supermarkets as they looked unnatural ,and tasted like wood chipping ,or cotton.Bleah I would just go and eat them raw from the garden,as a treat,especially the small tastier ones-,cherry like,or plum like(ovoid).Also we had a big variety-half a kilo- that tasted good,and was massive,also. Enough for one meal

[@grimace4257]

I don’t like you and I want you off my planet

[@buddah8706]

@@grimace4257 that’s healthy

[@BigBodyBiggolo]

@@grimace4257 there are 2 wasps in my room and you still managed to be more frustrating

[@shadowsintox9]

@@grimace4257 but why?

[@alakhazom]

@@shadowsintox9 Probably some problems up the balcony. That,or maybe he got the wrong video,by mistake! Cause it doesn't make any sense.

[@THEScottCampbell]

Allergic reaction to raw tomatoes could easily be another reason they were believed to be poisonous. To some of us, it IS.

[@GrizzlyTank]

Unless their cooked down into a sauce, tomatoes will make me really sick.

[@jenynz5334]

They're bad for everyone, but only certain people have obvious bad reactions to them.

[@pinderbupinder1598]

Dont breed

[@Quintesca]

Allergies were far less common then than they are now. Seems to be a side affect from our environments being so clean now that our immune systems kinda just start looking for something to do. Or so I’ve heard anyway. I most definitely am not an authority on the subject lol

[@nomdeplume2213]

Thousands of allergies exist so one would assume all foods would have the same reputation then

[@sunnyjim1355]

Even in my lifetime I've noticed that store bought tomatoes don't taste as good as they used to. Sure, they keep longer, but they sure taste blander.

[@tubester4567]

I agree., Thats because most fruit and veg are picked before ripe and put in storage. This provides us with food all year round, but it harms the freshness and taste.

[@zetaking2909]

@@tubester4567 I think its also the genetic modification alot of the seeds stock has now, generally get extra tomato seeds myself from an old seed house in LA, alot harder to care for those tomatos, but there taste is very sharp which i like. tho there smell is also a bit strong... still makes amazing pico, salsa and tomato sauce.

[@joylox]

I always grew up with a garden, and have fond memories of my dad and I picking tomatoes and then making sandwiches right after. I gotta say, the worst tomatoes I had were all at buffets, and the best ones were from my grandparents yard. I should probably ask what kind they planted if they remember. They were yellow and really good, but not the same yellow ones I grew this year.

[@joylox]

@@zetaking2909 Pico from cherry tomatoes is so good! They have more flavour and generally less messing around with, like pesticides and such. Totally different from the big ones. They're also really easy to grow as they ripen faster due to the small size.

[@steveneardley7541]

In the 15th century, Venice had a virtual monopoly on the spice trade with India and the East, from which they procured Indigo, which produced a beautiful purple dye. Most European makers of clothing only had access to woad, which produced a deep blue dye that was not nearly as pretty. The woad growers circulated the rumor that indigo was Satanic, and even tried to have it banned. The Venetians, who were quite independent of Rome, simply ignored all of these rumors. Perhaps the rumor that tomatoes are poisonous began in a similar way--from a business competitor.

[@amberkat8147]

Probably came from either the fact that tomato plants are related to the deadly nightshade or that cooking them or serving them in pewter vessels could cause lead poisoning, or both.

[@gorilladisco9108]

Of which product?

[@emilkoch4098]

Wow!! This was real interesting. Great job. I’ve grown my own tomatoes in the past. I now know their origins. Hard to believe they were anything but popular at one time.

[@johndavis6119]

I grew up in Maryland. My grandparents had a large farm on the Eastern Shore. There they grew tomatoes. It was once Maryland’s cash crop. The brand of caned tomatoes once grown there called Maryland Chief is still around although the tomatoes now come from Delaware. The tomatoes tasted sweeter back then and are still, for me the taste and smell of a hot summer day.

[@saintpharma7757]

Tomatoes give me really intense heartburn, I rarely eat them because of that, I wonder how much of the poison apple rumors came from people with esophagitis like me lol

[@johnliberty3647]

Friggin awesome content, going to check your other videos and if its full of the origins of cultivated food plants as well as the history of its development and I will be subscribing. This is the most interesting topic to me.

[@gj8683]

Fun Fact: In Okayama, Japan, there is a Tomato Bank of Japan.

[@nifecike1325]

Interesting

[@mikeyfrederick1232]

All your content sir is just top notch..super interesting and informative...you deserve praise for this channel

[@isaiahrogge]

This channel has given me so many pointers on writing papers bc that’s basically what his videos are. The script is in a paper format with the into, body, and conclusion

[@dhruvseth2009]

Just dont start your paper thanking the patreons 😆

[@LindaC616]

Please don't copy them, though

[@isaiahrogge]

@@LindaC616 Obviously 😂

[@LindaC616]

@@isaiahrogge I've seen a paper turned in that, when I translated it back into English, came up as the script of a PBS show...🤦‍♀️

[@gordonquigg9389]

I love tomatoes. I'm 64, and all my life I have always felt more healthy after eating tomatoes. If I don't have tomatoes after a week, I start to feel clogged up and coagulated with too much mucus. When I eat tomatoes everyday, I feel cleansed and my system feels way more healthy and lively. Tomatoes in salad raw and fresh is paramount, and tomatoes in cooking and sauces is heaven on earth. Perhaps that is why once they Italians discovered the tomato, they became one of the healthiest cultures and societies on earth.

[@slayerhuh404]

I don't know why I get such a kick out of this series. I think it's partially because I can tell on a subtle level you're enjoying the ironic nature of it, as are we all. Also I have to echo other comments. I love your channel because of the variety. A lot of other channels it's battle after battle after battle, which, while fascinating, can become a bit of a blur after years. These complete shifts in focus really help keep my interest in history refreshed.

[@ranniemanangan5371]

In the Philippines, the tomatoes grown locally is mostly used for cooking and eaten raw together with fish sauce, fish paste or soy sauce... The tomatoes used for sauces are most likely from the breeds that are grown internationally...

[@DoctorProph3t]

Oh I never thought of that and now I’m gonna try fresh tomato with soy sauce

[@rogantwort7374]

Put some tomatoe sauce on balut 😂🤮😂

[@ant-1382]

As an avid collector of old bottles, we did some excavating at an old town site, circa 1900, unbelievable how much ketchup they consumed.

[@aarontheperson6867]

interesting. the love of ketchup is unending.

[@NotaUser1234]

In NIX v. HEDDEN(1893), the US Supreme Court ruled that tomatoes are vegetables, not fruit (for tax reasons), despite conceding in their decision that they are in fact botanically fruit.

[@captainmurphy4720]

That tomato festival looks like a lot more fun than the running of the bulls. Chucking tomatoes at a bunch of confused bulls would be fun too.

[@Alusnovalotus]

No.

[@n-s-a7113]

Ah yes we should totally throw tomatoes at distressed animals.

[@puttytat007]

@Fire of Learning, thank you so much. I love the origin of food. I have been laughed at for educating about all the wonderful things that originated in South America. It's nice to know that the truth is told so well. Much of what is from SA is given credit to others, for examw Annato/Achote, ponchos, hammocks, and so many other things. 👍🍅🍍🍉🥔🌽

[@Viehzerrer]

Despite not knowing anything about it beforehand, somehow, I had the feeling that tomatoes originated from South America. Just seems like a thing that would come from there. Maybe it's because it seems as much of a staple food to Italy (although apparently, it isn't) like potatoes are to Germany. And those have similar origins.

[@liveandinstereo]

Yep.... Potatoes, Corn, Quinoa, Tomatoes, Tobacco all that good stuff from America.

[@franchi8601]

Yes you are 100% right, tomatoes actually originated from countries south of Mexico, so whatever country is south of it, it's from there. And Christopher Columbus ( a renaissance era roman) who asked the native Indians to show him their spices. Which he brought to the British monarchy since they sponsored his voyage. Along with potatoes, eggplants, hot peppers, tobacco, corn, and animal pelts. The British Monarchy made the first choices France next then Italy. Italy took the left over choices and made it a national food.

[@aesyamazeli8804]

3/5 of commercial foods in the world come from the new world

[@SandBoy408]

@@aesyamazeli8804 3/5 of south american food come from old world, introduced by settlers.

[@MARM218]

The origin of the name comes from the Aztec language, it is Xitomatl which means something like "bellybutton with water", but the Spaniards had a hard time with the "tl" ending in the Aztec words, so they adapted it to "Jitomate" which sounds very similar; with time it eventually was just called Tomate (removing the Ji) and it was adapted to English as Tomato.

[@SophieBird07]

I always thought the tomato leaves were poisonous and that initially someone ate the leaves and assumed the whole plant was toxic….sort of like rhubarb stalks vs leaves.

[@cloudlounger6903]

Acid from tomatoes, mixing with pewter causes a reactionary-breakdown. THINK ABOUT IT: Lemons clean, as with any acidic-fruit (orange, grapefruit and tomato, etc...)

[@matnotyou]

I remember hearing that the reason why people throw tomatoes at the stage when they don't like a performer is because they wanted to show how much they hated the show, by trying to 'kill' the performer.

[@captainmurphy4720]

It really is the most forgiving of vegetation that is still nicely throwable. Unpleasant, embarrassing, messy, and maybe a sting but a merciful projectile overall.

[@davidarundel6187]

The riper the fruit, the better for throwing at certain actors, to show distaste regarding the performance given - audiences could be quite "generous" in their "gifting" of tomatos - "soup for dinner" , cast & crew.

[@rubynibs]

No, people threw _rotten_ tomatoes at bad performers, hence the name of the film blog, Rotten Tomatoes.

[@triciasomogyi5431]

Ruby Nibs - Precisely

[@brandoncampanaro7571]

These videos about food is actually extremely interesting, thank you for doing them!!

[@sagacious03]

Neat analysis video! Thanks for uploading!

[@CocoaBeachLiving]

I have a love hate-relationship with tomatoes. This is a fascinating history.

[@JohnnyAngel8]

I remember learning that the Catholic Church, at one time, had banned the tomato. When this occurred and why, I don't know.

[@franchi8601]

More likely because of the effects of the leaves which is similar to the nightshade 'Bella Donna' used in witchcraft as a hallucinogenic where witches saw the devil. Nightshade and Henbane was made into an ointment with pork lard and smeared on a broom stick for the witches ritual of flying nude in the night, a form of a hallucinogenic divination done nude in a ritual. The witches private parts cradled the smeared broomstick. This is a documented fact that I have studied.

[@tee4212]

Thank you for keeping this series going!

[@Benni777]

Tomato basil soup with grilled cheese is the BEST fall/winter meal! 🤌🏻👌🏻

[@theplayerformerlyknownasmo3711]

You're killing it dude.

[@MrDDiRusso]

Another fun fact: a bottle of ketchup has more sugar than a bottle of Coke.

[@GSG-io8zp]

When do you ever drink a bottle of ketchup in one go?

[@RockandrollNegro]

Pretty much everything has more sugar in it than a bottle of Coke. Coke has used HFCS as a sweetener since the 1980s, in place of sugar.

[@jackeronie6490]

do you drink an entire bottle of ketchup at once?

[@etiennemacq]

Another funier fact : a sugar box has more sugar than a bottle of ketchup.

[@langreeves6419]

@@RockandrollNegro hfcs is sugar...so is honey, sryup, etc....lots of names for dextrose, glucose, sucrose, fructose....and those are just some scientific names

[@richards.2030]

I'm enjoying this series! Your comment about Caesar never seeing tomatoes reminded me of your video about Romans visiting present-day America.

[@franchi8601]

Chistofer Columbus was a renaissance roman, the last era of the romans. He discovered the tomatoes et al the nightshade varieties of the new world.

[@sarahshroom]

My aunt and uncle grew all sorts of tomatoes this summer and they were the best I'd ever had. Absolutely adding them to my garden next year.

[@barbieblues7639]

I had a tomato allergy when I was a kid and my grandfather would tell me that they were considered poisonous in his mother's day because many people had such allergies. Also because it's a nightshade...too bad they don't have any real flavor anymore either. I guess you'd have to grow your own if you want actual flavor.

[@mecha1gold]

I am from Honduras here in Central america and I have many native Tomato plants here in my backyard. I have always wondered why they dont grow too much 😂 they are the size of blueberries. But taste very nice with some salt 😋

[@rockydo2307]

Love these videos on the history of fruit, keep up the good work :)

[@Vickeeo]

Really interesting video. I love tomatoes and even grow them in summertime, so now I have a new appreciation for them.

[@xaviercruz4763]

Could you do a good short documentary on olive plants and how they first arrived from Europe?

[@vladtheimpala5532]

My grandparents grew the best tomatoes I’ve ever tasted. I used to love the tomato sandwiches we made from them. It’s hard to find good tomatoes at the grocery store.

[@joylox]

I grew some for the first time this year, and the difference is really noticeable. Some farmers markets will have good ones, but I start mine inside, and then plant them outside when it's warm enough. I started in April, planted outside in June, had tomatoes from August to October when a couple weeks ago frost ruined a lot of mine (they freeze, thaw, and get very mushy).

[@paultonacci1026]

Excellent video! Subscribing today!

[@tubularfrog]

Excellent video exploring the origins of the tomato. You did mention that it is from the nightshade family. Growing up in California I was always told the green parts of the plant (vines and leaves) are poisonous. There's nothing more tasty than a vine ripened tomato, picked fresh from the garden.

[@lakrids-pibe]

I've read a memoir from the late 19th century ('Midt i en klunketid' by Benjamin Jacobsen) where the author describes his father eating this new and exotic, possibly dangerous fruit. His father survived. Tomatoes doesn't grow very well here in Denmark. We just don't have the sunlight. That's probably part of the reason it didn't get popular before.

[@Flippokid]

A couple years back the university in my hometown of Wageningen had a study about the taste of tomatoes. Apparently the breeding for size and appearance had eliminated one or some gene(s) which are directly responsible for stronger flavor. The article said they were planning to bring those genes back, so we could expect better flavored tomatoes soon, but so far I've not been impressed by the change, if any.

[@dylswife8048]

This series is so interesting! Thanks!

[@NotaUser1234]

This video is relevant to my interests! My favorite heirloom tomato is Mortgage Lifter, an easy to grow slicer that's good in sandwiches or as a pizza topper.

[@victorha9923]

probably my favorite veg/fruit, in terms of being the main chef's ingredient in a dish

[@ionanyzr767]

Interesting, but disappointed you never mentioned the prevalence of Tomato allergies considering the title & content. I have one it comes with hives & flu like symptoms. I shouldn't be surprised I guess it is an allergy/sensitivity along with nightshades that is not well known, for whatever reason.

[@whydoiexist2180]

Never even knew tomato allergies exist lol

[@al145]

I didn't know that was a thing. Does eggplant bother you too? My stepdad used to be sensitive to eggplant if he ate too much of it.

[@ionanyzr767]

@@al145 I wasn't tested for eggplant (& haven't eaten much since the allergy diagnosis) hemp, cannabis, are also on my calendar - I sneeze when I'm stoned lol. I'm fine with peppers, potatoes thank goodness 👍

[@ionanyzr767]

@@whydoiexist2180 lol tbh I don't think I did before either, and it sux. 😋 But it's been a few years, I feel better and am used to my diet.

[@tammietravis2395]

It’s a nightshade allergy. I have it too. Can’t eat tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant or ANY peppers.

[@SnowHunterMC]

Great series, keep it up

[@paulburley7993]

My family of Irish descent grew tomatoes on their farm in the Ottawa Valley of Canada during the earlier 20th century. They did not eat them though-- they were feed for the livestock!

[@hackman669]

What type of livestock did they grow?

[@paulburley7993]

@@hackman669 It was a general farm. Dairy, sheep, hogs lots of fowl particularly turkeys. I remember saying " your own turkeys for holidays" They never ate the turkeys because they were too valuable and were sold at market in Ottawa. They always had a goose at Christmas. She never specified which animals were fed the tomatoes.

[@denniskylling3887]

Can you please do one on potatoes, since I would say the crop has been quite influential on Europe, and therefore would be a great video for this series

[@mpetersen6]

Probably the most important food of the Columbian Exchange.

[@elindio9884]

@@mpetersen6 corn is arguably more important than the potato

[@jussikankinen9409]

We call potatoes peruna cause from peru

[@jussikankinen9409]

I dont think anybody ate corn here before 1960

[@BruceMallett]

Interesting history about the "poison" aspect. I learned that in grade school and often wondered if this was due to trying tomatoes with dogs, who get very sick if they eat one.

[@LordGadwin]

its a berry. =) the Potato comes from the deadly nightshade plant too. the white berries that grow on top of them are toxic, as well as the parts of the potato that get sunlight on them an turn green.

[@franchi8601]

Try smoking it like the native Indians smoked tobacco flower tops to go into a comatose trance for divination purposes. For you info 2 cigarettes of wild tobacco flower tops can killed a person, just saying the facts.

[@sarahenglish2740]

Since you speak about potatoes in this tomato video, the real question is: will we de-potato?

[@LordGadwin]

@@sarahenglish2740 going to make you into a French fry. Silly woman.

[@mariadocarmosobreira8323]

Great video. And I know it's the correct terminology, but when you talk about "domesticating" the tomato, I cannot but think of a tamer with a chair and whip in a cage, domesticating a wild tomato. 😂

[@DoctorProph3t]

Them wild ‘Matos are vicious and stubborn

[@raymondcoventry1221]

Unpleasant smell? I've always loved the smell of fresh tomato plants. Till now I thought everyone did.

[@Dsp-uo8en]

My Grandpa told me a story of his grandma who immigrated to the US from Sweden, She had never seen a tomato before and when she saw one she believed it was an apple, when she took a bite she spit it out cause it was sour.

[@mtcondie]

Great videos! Thank you!

[@joylox]

I grew yellow and orange tomatoes this year (both hybrids, lemon boy and sun gold), and I had such a good experience with it! Interesting to know that different colours had been around for a long time. I remember seeing heirloom purple tomatoes, and it made me think of the kids song "I Love Purple Stew." It's funny to think that they were grown ornamentally rather than for food, as that's sort of what we do with pumpkins now, with the notable exception of pumpkin pie.

[@brianjohnston9822]

Look into the issues of canning tomatoes. It was thought that canned tomatoes were toxic. This led to cans containing tomatoes to be lined. One would think that if leaching from metals was indeed an issue, the early canners would have been aware of this problem.

[@JamesThomas-pj2lx]

"Sun Sugar", everyone should plant at least one "Sun Sugar" plant each spring. I'd recommend using a "cloth pot", tomato cage, and size you planter >5 gallons (unless you want to have to water/feed twice a day). Can't go wrong with a "Sun Sugar" .

[@irunamuk]

Sun Gold as well. Absolutely amazing, sweet cherry tomatoes.

[@lukebaker5135]

Good video I enjoy it. Yes but when are you going to finish the Spain documentary series?

[@AlphaCrucis]

Thank you for kindling the fire of learning for the world.

[@williammusa2619]

wasn't the Potato also treated in the same way? I believe it was considered poisonous and grown for its Flowers on till the 1800's.

[@robertsparling]

When the potatoes are exposed to the sun and the flesh turns green, that actually IS poisonous.

[@saultopaul3981]

I love tomatillos , with sour cream. Good sauce

[@zOOmer991]

Leaving a comment for the algorithm, amazing content!

[@natfoote4967]

When I was a kid you could hold a tomato at arm's length and still be able to smell it. We used to get the most amazing tomatoes out of Napa Valley, before it all went to wine grapes.

[@mpetersen6]

There had to have been some water based commerce between Mesoamerica and South America. The Darian Swamp almost makes it a given.

[@joegoecke9711]

After so much research, how can you not have come across the fact that a Tomato grown in proximity of a black Walnut tree is indeed deadly to eat?

[@GeckoHiker]

The actual problem is that juglone from the black walnut tree's roots cause walnut wilt in tomatoes. Nothing grows successfully near a black walnut tree because the tree is designed that way. I'm a Missouri farmer surrounded by black walnut trees. You need a hard hat to go outside when the trees start throwing walnuts. Anyway, trees won't let tomatoes get enough sunlight for the tomatoes to ripen so it's best to plant them in full sun and be prepared to pick the worms off. We take a drowning bucket for those pesky critters.

[@tracycameron2580]

Good to know, i have walnut trees to plant, I was thinking it would be best to plant them in the woods somewhere

[@zr3933]

We used to grow these amazing heart-shaped tomatoes when I was a child that were SO sweet. Great to eat on their own as a whole fruit 🍅

[@dannahbanana11235]

I don't usually like a lot of (culinary) vegetables, but when it gets hot out, tasty in-season tomatoes are one of the only things that makes it worth it. Fried green tomatoes from a stall at the fair? Yes please.

[@adamantium112768]

Never heard tomatoes being called poison apples but have heard of them called devil's apple

[@juliemacdonald9346]

Some people are sensitive to the “lectins” in certain plants such as tomatoes. The Italians are known for discarding the seeds and skin, and only using the flesh due to the high amount of lectins in the seeds and skin. The deadly nightshade family are well known for causing food sensitivity symptoms in the body.

[@micksbiggestfan4006]

Nicely done.

[@Ciubix8513]

Will you make a video about potatoes?