Interesting facts about tomatoes

 Eating tomatoes again, have you thought about what they are? Hardly what it is - after all, they are so accustomed, you can buy them in any store, even in winter, even in summer. In fact, these vegetables are quite interesting, and besides, they are popular almost all over the world. Their different varieties are grown on all continents, except Antarctica, as well as on most inhabited islands.

Tomato facts

• The name "tomato" is also correct. More precisely, both names are correct.
• With the presence of moisture and nutrition, additional roots can form on any part of the tomato stem. For this, the plant only needs a few days.
• Some varieties of tomatoes can grow up to 2 meters in height. And the height of the smallest of them usually does not exceed 30-35 centimeters.
• The word "tomato" came to us from the Italian language, where it means "golden apple", and the word "tomato" comes from the Aztec language
• Choline, a substance found in tomatoes, helps to lower blood cholesterol levels.
• In Mediterranean countries, in particular, in Italy and Spain, cold tomato-based soups are popular. For example, the famous gazpacho soup.
• Tomatoes are used as a seasoning and in dried form, and in 5-10 days of drying, they lose up to 85-90% of their mass.
• Historically, tomatoes come from South America. Wild varieties are still found in nature there.
• Tomatoes came to Europe only in the middle of the 16th century, after the Europeans discovered the New World.
• The world's first tomato-based recipe was published in a recipe book published in 1692 in Naples. At the same time, the author of the recipe claimed to have borrowed it from Spain.
• Scientists are working in many countries to develop new varieties of tomatoes. For example, when a cultivar was crossed with a wild tomato from the Galapagos Islands at the University of California, it was possible to obtain a cultivar with a salty taste. Experiments have shown that salted tomatoes grow well on sandy soils when watered with seawater.
• For a long time, tomatoes were considered inedible and even poisonous, and therefore gardeners grew them as an exotic ornamental plant.
• Tomatoes first came to Russia only in the 18th century, that is, relatively recently.
• In the first place in the production of tomatoes, and by a huge margin, is China. India and the USA follow 
• Every third tomato in the world is grown in China.
• The pulp of ripe tomatoes in folk medicine is often used to treat wounds and burns. Rapid healing occurs due to the high content of so-called plant antibiotics in the pulp of tomatoes - phytoncides, which prevent infection from developing.
• At temperatures below +10 degrees, tomatoes lose their ability to reproduce, and the plant dies without leaving a fruit.
• In suitable conditions, tomato seeds can be stored for up to 6-8 years without losing germination.

• Unlike some other vegetables and fruits, green and unripe tomatoes, when picked, ripen well on their own.
• From a botanical point of view, tomatoes are not vegetables or even fruits, but berries.
• For a long time, it was believed that the tomato belongs to an aphrodisiac, but research has shown that this is not the case.
• Tomatoes are rich in fiber and vitamins A and C.
• There is a monument to the tomato in Ukraine, in the city of Kamenka-Dneprovskaya.
• The world's largest tomato was grown in the USA, in the state of Wisconsin. He weighed a whopping 2.9 kg.
• There are at least 10,000 varieties of tomatoes. The smallest tomato is less than 2 centimeters in diameter, and the largest weighs almost 1.5 kilograms. But on an industrial scale, less than a hundred varieties are cultivated 
• The tomato is a biological relative of potatoes and tobacco - all three plants belong to the nightshade family.
• In North America, more than 90% of all home gardens are grown with tomatoes. It is the most popular vegetable in the United States and Canada.
• More than 170 million tons of tomatoes are produced annually in the world.
• Tomatoes quickly lose vitamin C if exposed to sunlight during storage.
• The beneficial properties of tomatoes do not deteriorate, but only improve when cooked.
• La Tomatina is an annual celebration that takes place in the last week of August in the Spanish city of Bunol. Tens of thousands of participants come from different countries to participate in the tomato massacre, recklessly throwing these fruits at each other.
• Unripe tomatoes contain a poisonous substance - solanine. If you eat more than a kilogram of green tomatoes, you can easily get poisoned. Solanine is also formed in ripe tomatoes that are kept in the light for a long time.
• The red varieties contain more nutrients than the yellow ones.