Tomato facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Tomato |
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| Cross-section and full view of a hothouse (greenhouse-grown) tomato | |
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Solanum
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S. lycopersicum
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| Solanum lycopersicum |
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Lycopersicon lycopersicum (L.) H. Karst. |
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The tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is a botanical fruit (but not a fruit as ordinary people use the word).
It is shiny and smooth. It has many small seeds. It is also very good for health. Most tomatoes are red. The tomato is green when it is unripe. It slowly changes color from green to red as it gets ripe, and as it gets ripe it gets bigger and bigger. There are many different types of tomatoes. Some kinds of tomato are yellow or orange when they are ripe. Tomatoes are used a lot in Italian food. They are also used to make ketchup. Tomatoes are called fruit, because they contain seeds. Tomato seeds are dispersed by being eaten by animals. After being eaten the seeds pass through the animal's digestive system. Although tomatoes are botanically fruits, many people consider them vegetables and treat them as such in cooking.
Contents
History
The tomato is native to western South America. Wild versions were small, like cherry tomatoes, and most likely yellow instead of red. The Spanish first showed tomatoes to Europe, where they became used in Spanish and Italian food. The French and northern Europeans wrongly thought that they were poisonous because they are a member of the deadly nightshade family. The leaves and immature fruit contains tomatine, which in large amounts would be toxic. However, the ripe fruit contains no tomatine.
As food
The tomato is grown and eaten around the world. It is used in many ways, such as raw in salads or in slices, stewed, a part of a wide variety of dishes, or processed into ketchup or tomato soup. Unripe green tomatoes can also be breaded and fried, used to make salsa, or pickled. Tomato juice is sold as a drink, and is used in cocktails such as the Bloody Mary.
Related pages
Images for kids
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Grape tomatoes on the vine for sale at a market
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Tomatoes are considered a fruit or vegetable depending on context. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, tomatoes are a fruit labeled in grocery stores as a vegetable due to (the taste) and nutritional purposes.
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Tomato flower
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Solanum lycopersicum var. lycopersicum. Sheet from the oldest tomato collection of Europe, 1542–1544. Naturalis Leiden.
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Tomatoes for sale in a UK supermarket
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A variety of small tomatoes
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Yellow cherry tomatoes
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Tomato Production Map
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Tomato fruitworm feeding on unripe tomato
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A split heirloom tomato, caused by fluctuation in water availability
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Tomato flower in full bloom, next to a young, green developing fruit
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The "tomato tree" as seen by guests on the Living with the Land boat ride at Epcot, Lake Buena Vista, Florida
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Stuffed tomatoes (stuffed with hard-boiled egg and Parmesan)
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Tomatoes thrown from a truck during the Spanish Tomatina festival.
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Tomato plants 7 days after planting
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Tomato seedlings growing indoors
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27 days after planting
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52-day-old plant, first fruits
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Tomatoes being collected from the field, Maharashtra, India
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Various heirloom tomato cultivars
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A variety of specific cultivars, including Brandywine (biggest red), Black Krim (lower left) and Green Zebra (top left)
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Red tomatoes with PLU code in a supermarket.
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See also
In Spanish: Solanum lycopersicum para niños
