Love Apple, Love
English: Tomatoes at a market. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
It is
Valentine’s Day and I have been informed that gift to you was not very
romantic. So I guess I need to try again. Love Apples are tomatoes; first
brought to Europe by the Spanish in the 1400’s they were at first thought to be
poisonous. This is not very surprising since they are related to Nightshade.
They were beautiful though with their gold and red colors, so they were planted
in gardens as ornamentals. This is where they received the name “Love Apple”.
Tradition has it that they were given by young gentlemen to the ladies they
fancied. A gift that some claimed had magical and aphrodisiac powers.
I‘m not sure
about the aphrodisiac claim but Tomatoes are magical. They are one of the most
widely cultivated crops in the world. Grown from their original home in South
America to Japan in unnumbered varieties. Tomatoes are a now a staple of almost
every type of Cuisine. From sandwiches to sauces tomatoes are one of our most
consumed fruits or vegetables. Not a bad claim for something once thought to be
poison.
Contrary to
this belief we now know that tomatoes are both healthy and delicious.
Containing zero cholesterol, very little fat and only 18 calories per 100 grams
they are an excellent diet food. They are very high in vitamin content
especially vitamins A and C and moderately high in B complex vitamins. The best
health news about tomatoes though may be that they are also high in Zea-xanthin and Lycopene both of which have
been found to fight and help prevent a number of cancer types, all this and
still delicious.
July's Tomato Haul (Photo credit: statelyenglishmanor) |
Below is my
second Valentines Gift for you, a simple vegetable dish both healthy and simple
to make. Before someone calls me on it, According to the US Supreme Court,
Tomatoes are a vegetable when cooked and a fruit when raw. You figure that one
out.
Wow...thanks for the information..I really love tomatoes, cook or raw tomatoes..
ReplyDelete