Tomatoes

Question 1

What plant family do tomatoes belong to?

Answer 1

Solanaceae (same as pepper, tobacco, potato, eggplant, etc).

Question 2

How did tomatoes get their modern (English) name?

Answer 2

Derived from the original Aztec name “tomatl”.

Question 3

Where did the tomato originate? Who brought it back to Europe? Where was it introduced to?

Answer 3

Originated in Central America. Brought back to Europe by the Spanish, who began cultivating it in Spain and Morocco.

Question 4

Why was the tomato originally named some translation of “apple of love” in many European languages?

Answer 4

So that it would be appealing to potential consumers.

Question 5

What fruit category does the tomato belong to?

Answer 5

The tomato fruit is technically a cherry (berry).

Question 6

How are tomatoes generally reproduced for cultivation?

Answer 6

By inbreeding, which is better than cloning but worse than outbreeding.

Question 7

Why is it advantageous for tomatoes to be day-length insensitive?

Answer 7

Allows them to be grown anywhere with the right other environmental factors regardless of the amount of sunlight they receive.

Question 8

The production of _____, _____, and _____ uses the vast majority of cultivated tomatoes.

Answer 8

Pizza sauce, tomato sauce, and tomato paste.

Question 9

What are the top 5 tomato producing nations (in order from most to least)?

Answer 9

1. USA
2. China
3. Turkey
4. Italy
5. India

Question 10

How much of the world’s tomato production comes from Asia? How is it traditionally consumed there?

Answer 10

~50% of world production from Asia, where it is eaten as a fruit for dessert with sugar added.

Question 11

How many tonnes of tomatoes are produced per acre in Xinjiang, China? What about California?

Answer 11

California: 40 tonnes/acre
Xinjiang: 20 tonnes/acre

Question 12

What is the most popular/most common condiment in North America?

Answer 12

Ketchup (duh).

Question 13

Where is Ketchup thought to originate? Has it changed since then?

Answer 13

Originated in Indonesia (maybe China) as “Ketsiap”, a fish sauce without any tomatoes.

Question 14

Who published the first recipe for Ketchup? What were some of the original ingredients?

Answer 14

Elizabeth Smith (“Compleat Housewife” 1727). Included anchovies, shallots, vinegar, white wine, various spices.

Question 15

How was Ketchup originally made in North America?

Answer 15

Using the leftover scraps from tomato canning. Led to a green, chunky product which was kinda gross.

Question 16

How was the original Ketchup, a byproduct of tomato canning, improved upon? What health scandal did this cause?

Answer 16

Producers began using red (ripe) tomatoes and including colourants. These colourants were coal-tar derivatives and were found to be carcinogenic!

Question 17

What eventually replaced the coal-tar derivatives that had been added to Ketchup to improve the colour (and is still present in Ketchup today)?

Answer 17

Sodium benzoate.

Question 18

How did Heinz improve upon the Ketchup formula?

Answer 18

Avoided preservatives by using more vinegar and salt, balanced the flavour with increased sugar content. Also opted to use high-quality tomatoes.

Question 19

Why is Heinz Ketchup successful?

Answer 19

Used taste panels to test flavour (all 5 taste sensations), then selected for a high amplitude product where all tastes were in harmony (couldn’t pick out individual ingredients).

Question 20

How many (or few) people are reported to know the formula for making Heinz Ketchup.

Answer 20

Just 8 people…

Question 21

Why can Ketchup be thought of as a “culinary security blanket”?

Answer 21

Children are introduced to it at an early age before they start to reject new foods, therefore it is a familiar flavour for many kids and less likely to be rejected.

Question 22

(Textbook) What are the 5 types of simple fleshy fruits?

Answer 22

1. Berry (ex: tomato)
2. Hesperidium (ex: orange)
3. Pepo (ex: melon)
4. Drupe (ex: peach)
5. Pome (ex: apple)

Question 23

(Textbook) What is an example of an aggregate fruit?

Answer 23

Classical berries such as strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries are all aggregate fruits.

Question 24

(Textbook) When did the US supreme court decide that the tomato is legally a vegetable?

Answer 24

1893.

Question 25

(Textbook) How many tomato cultivars are there? What are some examples of these?

Answer 25

> 500 varieties in cultivation, including beefsteak tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, big boy tomatoes, etc.

Question 26

(Textbook) What are “heirloom tomatoes”?

Answer 26

Traditional tomato varieties with many different physical characteristics including, size, colour, shape, flavour, etc.

Question 27

(Textbook) How many genes can be found in the tomato? How many of these have mutations which have been selected for through cultivation?

Answer 27

Of the 35,000 genes in the tomato, only 30 are altered in domestic tomatoes.

Question 28

(Textbook) What happens to tomatoes if they are grown in too warm a temperature?

Answer 28

They produce less fruit but also lose the characteristic red colouration.