Imagine Spaghetti Sauce
		Without the Tomato
		Nils-Bertil Wallin
		YaleGlobal, 5 November 2002

The great tomato, symbol of Italian cuisine, staple of many Mexican dishes, and the perfect condiment for a burger, was originally found in Peru. The tomato's global presence is undeniable, as is its adaptability to local recipes. Yet in its journey across the world, the tomato has lived under many names and endured false accusations.

No one knows exactly how the tomato moved from Peru to Mexico, but the Spanish Conquistador Hernan Cortez supposedly brought it to Spain in the 1520's. From Spain, the tomato moved to Italy and France. It was known variably as the 'pomme dei moro' (Moor's apple in Spanish); 'pomi d'oro' (golden apple in Italian); and 'pomme d'amour' (love apple in French). The first varieties of the tomato were most likely yellow since Italians referred to it as golden. Interestingly, English is closest to the original name in Aztec, tomatl.

Despite the tomato's initial acceptance by Southern Europeans, Northerners were hesitant to experiment with the fruit. Since the tomato belongs to the same family as the poisonous nightshade and mandrake, Northerners assumed the tomato was also hazardous. Even after it was known that "love apples" were being eaten in Europe, the English still thought of the tomato as having an unpleasant odor and taste.

But the savory tomato soon won out over fears of death and bland diets. By the end of the 17th century, tomatoes were first mentioned in a cookbook from Naples. And by the mid 18th century, tomato recipes had finally insinuated themselves into the British kitchen.

Meanwhile, tomatoes sailed with the colonists across the Atlantic to North America; but they were planted more for their decorative, rather than saporific, qualities. Although Thomas Jefferson ate tomatoes for dinner, and people in New Orleans enjoyed tomatoes as early as 1802, it was not until the 1820's that tomatoes were consumed in any great amount in the U.S.

But with the advent of canning, tomato consumption steadily increased in the late 1800's. And thanks to the enterprising Joseph Campbell and his soup, tomato production started to soar in the 1920's. Since tomato types remain relatively unchanged with each generation, varieties with high solid content suitable for paste and canning could be developed and then maintained for many years. The recent discovery of high concentrations of lycopene, a cancer-fighting compound, in tomatoes has made them prized for their health benefits. Drinking tomato juice is thought to be a quick way to get a high dose of lycopene. Of course, people who enjoy bloody marys or bloody caesars appreciate tomato juice for its other qualities - as a complement to clear vodka.

Today, the U.S., China, Turkey, Italy, and India are the top five tomato producing countries. Production in China has gone from 14 million metric tons in 1996 to 17 million metric tons in 2000. Consumption has also increased; in 1996 China consumed 11.5 kilograms per capita, while in 2000 13.5 kilograms per capita was consumed. One must not forget that much of this consumption takes the form of ketchup, which is another story in itself.

The origins of ketchup are as distant from the trademark of Heinz as the tomato of Peru is from its current incarnation. In the 1600's British sailors on shore leave in China were treated to a local delicacy known as kachiap or ketsiap. Used as a dipping sauce, 'kachiap' was made from the brine and spices used to pickle fish. The British soon adopted, and then reformulated this sauce. The first British recipe for ketchup appeared in the early 1700's and included anchovies, shallots, vinegar, white wine, cloves, ginger, mace, nutmeg, pepper, and lemon peel.

In the early 1800's an American in Nova Scotia, James Mease, published the first recipe for ketchup made with tomatoes. By 1830, tomato ketchup was being sold across the U.S. But it was in 1872, when H.J. Heinz added tomato ketchup to his products, that the standard was established and production took off.

The tomato has become so prevalent in part because of its versatility. It has adapted itself to each cuisine with such ease few people would believe that the tomato originally came for Peru. Imagine telling an Italian that once pasta was not accompanied by pomidoro sauce or that 'insalata caprese' (tomatoes and mozzarella) would not have existed without the work of Spanish Conquistadors. And how would an Indian react to 'rogan josh' (a type of curry) or 'sambar' (a type of lentil soup) if these dishes did not have tomatoes? Add ketchup, to this list, and one sees how much different the world would be if the tomato had never left Peru.

The tomato is now so common that one can hardly imagine pizza, burgers, salsa, or french fries without it. While people the world over may argue that tomato is a fruit, yet eat it with vegetables, few disagree that life without the tomato would just not be as delicious.

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© Copyright 2002 Yale Center for the Study of Globalization