I absolutely looove tomatoes! Did you know they were once considered to be poisonous, especially in Northern Europe?
The idea that tomatoes were once thought to be poisonous, especially in Europe, is a mix of fact and legend. Here’s the background:
-
European Suspicion: When tomatoes were first introduced to Europe from the Americas in the 16th century, they were met with suspicion. The tomato is part of the Solanaceae family, which includes deadly plants like belladonna (also called deadly nightshade). Because of this association, many Europeans were wary of tomatoes, believing they might be dangerous to eat.
-
Wealthy Class and Pewter Plates: One popular story is that wealthy Europeans who ate tomatoes off pewter plates often became sick or even died. This was because pewter, a common metal used in tableware at the time, contained high levels of lead. Tomatoes, being acidic, would leach lead from the plates, causing lead poisoning. Because of this, tomatoes gained a reputation for being deadly, particularly among the upper class, though the actual culprit was the lead, not the tomatoes themselves.
-
Botanical Confusion: Additionally, there was confusion about whether the tomato was a fruit or vegetable, and its novel appearance may have contributed to fear. The red color was sometimes associated with danger or poison.
-
Tomatoes in Italy: While northern Europeans were wary of tomatoes, the southern Europeans, particularly in Italy, adopted them more quickly into their cuisine, helping to dispel the myth over time. By the 18th century, tomatoes were becoming an integral part of Mediterranean dishes.
So while tomatoes themselves are not poisonous, early misunderstandings about their family association and reactions to lead poisoning contributed to the myth that they were dangerous to eat.
Also, tomatoes are not vegetables.
Botanically, a tomato is a fruit because it develops from the ovary of a flower and contains seeds. More specifically, it’s classified as a berry because it forms from a single ovary and has fleshy parts.
However, in culinary terms, tomatoes are often considered a vegetable because they are used in savory dishes rather than sweet ones. This distinction led to a famous U.S. Supreme Court case in 1893, Nix v. Hedden, where the court ruled that tomatoes should be classified as a vegetable for tariff purposes due to their common use in meals.
So, while scientifically a fruit, tomatoes are treated as vegetables in the kitchen!