Tomatoes

Tomatoes

When I was getting prepared for my article about tomatoes; I was doing some research. You know googling tomatoes to find out more about them. When I realized that I was spelling it wrong. I am not sure why I like spelling it wrong, but I like to put an a there the o is. I like to do the same thing with potatoes. I really must think about how to spell these words when I write them down.

I decided to write an article about tomatoes because I love them, when I was pregnant with my daughter, I would eat canned tomatoes out of the can. That is how much I love to eat tomatoes. Let’s face it, when given the chance I will still eat the tomato out of the can. I wasn’t craving tomatoes I was craving sweet things. Canned tomatoes are just what I went for because I love tomatoes so much. Therefore, I am writing about tomatoes. Why not learn more about something that I love.

Tomato is the edible berry. Yes, berry of the Solanum Lycopersicon. I had no idea that the tomato was a berry. I knew it was a fruit but not a berry. To be a berry a fruit must have two or more seeds and come from a flower that has one ovary. Blueberry, tomato, peppers, cranberry, eggplant, and kiwis all come from a flower with just one ovary. Strawberries, cherries, and raspberries are not a berry. Cherries only have one seed so this makes them a drupe. Strawberries and raspberries come from a flower that has more then one ovary. This makes them an aggregate. Bananas are berries but not the strawberry.

Solanum lycopersican is the scientific name and it is from the family Solanaceae which is a diverse genus of flowering plants. Potatoes and eggplants are also in this family; but potatoes are not a berry like the tomato is. The higher classification is Nightshade. In the kingdom of plant.

Lycopene is a plant nutrient with antioxidant properties. It’s the pigment that give fruits, Such as tomatoes watermelon and pink grapefruit their pink or red colour. It has been linked to health benefits ranging from heart health to protection against sunburns and certain types of cancer.

A small 100g tomato has 18 calories, 95% of it is water, it has .9 grams of protein, it has 3.9 grams of carbs, it has 2.6 grams of sugar. 1.2 grams of fiber and .2 grams of fat. Tomatoes are a good source of fiber providing about 1.2 grams and most of the fiber are isolable in the for of hemicellulose, cellulose and diginin.

Tomato have vitamin, which is an essential nutrient and antioxidant, one medium sized tomato can provide 28% of the reference laity.

Potassium is found in tomatoes too. Potassium is beneficial for blood pressure control and heart disease prevention. Vitamin K also known as phylloquinone is important for blood clotting and bone health. Folate one of the B vitamins is also found in tomatoes is important for normal tissue growth and cell function. It’s particularly important for pregnant women.

Tomatoes are Native to South America. With many different varieties of tomatoes. I grew a few in my green house. I had some cherry tomatoes. I also, had a chocolate cherry tomato that I thought would turn darker than it did. I had early girl beef eater and roma. A few of the verities that I didn’t have are three sisters, santorini, and tigerella. When I looked at the picture of the tigerella tomato it had yellow stripes on it. If I can find this type of tomato next year in my area, I would like to try it. I didn’t just have tomatoes in my green house I also grew corn, jalapeno peppers, a red bell pepper. I also planted zucchini in my green house. I love zucchini too. A couple more kinds of tomatoes are three sisters, santorini, and tigerella but I didn’t grow any of these in my greenhouse. In total I had about twelve plants. I got a ton of tomatoes off them. I am not sure why but some of my tomatoes started to split even before I had they chance to pick them. They still tasted great.

Whether you eat them raw, or from a can. Put them in sauces or have them sliced on your pizza tomatoes are great to eat. They have many health benefits, and they taste great.

By Natosha J Selsky