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Tomatoes
are the fruit of the tomato plant. They originated in the South American
Andes around the area of modern day Peru and was first used as a food by
the Aztec's in Southern Mexico.
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Because
the tomato has seeds and grows from a flowering plant botanically
it is classed as a fruit not a vegetable.
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In
1887, U.S. tariff laws imposed a duty on vegetables, but not on fruits. This
meant the status of tomatoes become a matter of legal importance. The U.S.
Supreme Court ruled in the case of Nix v. Hedden that tomatoes were to be
considered vegetables, based on the popular definition that classifies
vegetables by use, where they are usually served with dinner and not as a
dessert. However, the courts did not reclassify the tomato botanically, it is
still a fruit.
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Tomatoes
are the state vegetable of New Jersey. They are the official state fruit of
Ohio and tomato juice is the official beverage of Ohio. However, Arkansas
took both sides by stating the South Arkansas Vine Ripe Pink Tomato as the
state fruit and state vegetable, due to its culinary and botanical
classifications.
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In
cooler climates tomatoes are usually grown in glasshouses (greenhouses).
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China
is the largest producer of tomatoes, accounting for one quarter of the worlds
production in 2009. The United States and India and the
second and third highest producers respectively.
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Pretty
much all tomato varieties are red although other colors are possible
including green, yellow, orange, pink, black, brown, white, and purple.
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There
are more than 7500 tomato varieties grown around the world.
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Types
of tomatoes include slicing (globe) tomatoes used in processing and for fresh
eating. Beefsteak tomatoes are large, often used for sandwiches. Oxheart
tomatoes vary in size and are shaped like large strawberries. Plum
tomatoes (including pear tomatoes), are usually oblong, and used in tomato
sauce and paste. Cherry tomatoes are small round, often sweet and eaten whole
in salads. Campari tomatoes are sweet and juicy of small to medium size.
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Tomatoes
are rich in lycopene, an antioxidant that is good for the heart and
effective against certain cancers. Cooked tomatoes are actually better for
you than raw ones, as more beneficial chemicals are released. Tomatoes are
also packed with vitamins A and C, calcium, potassium.
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The
tomato is eaten in many different ways, raw like a fruit, as an ingredient in
many dishes, sauces, salsas, salads, processed into ketchup or tomato soup.
Tomato juice is made as a drink and used in cocktails like a Bloody Mary.
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Tomatoes
are very popular in Mediterranean cuisines such as Italian. They are
important ingredient in pizza and pasta sauces.
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The
biggest tomato fight in the world happens each year in the small Spanish town
of Buñol. The festival called La Tomatina, involves some 40,000 people
throwing 150,000 tomatoes at each other.
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The
Guinness World Record for most tomatoes harvested from a single plant over
one year weighed 522.464 kg (1151.84 lbs) with 32,194 tomatoes harvested
between May 2005 and April 2006. The tomato plant was at the Epcot Science
project at Walt Disney World Company, Florida, USA.
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As
of 2013, the heaviest tomato according to Guinness World Record weighed 3.51
kg (7 lb 12 oz) and was grown by G. Graham in 1986, Oklahoma, USA.
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