Tomatoes

2024 Author: Jasmine Walkman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 08:29

Tomatoes are probably among the most common, beloved and popular vegetables in the world. According to many, tomatoes are actually a fruit, but in view of their great taste and wide application, the duel "fruit or vegetable" remains in the background. Tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum) are a vegetable species belonging to the potato family (Solanaceae). They are grown for their delicious fleshy fruits as an annual crop. In some areas, where air and soil temperatures do not fall below 0 ° C, they can also be grown as perennials.

When ripening tomatoes acquire red, pink, yellow or orange color with different saturation. The weight of the fruits varies widely - from 10 to over 200 g. The fruits are with seeds or without seeds (parthenocarpic). The origin of tomatoes of the equatorial forests of South America determines their specific requirements for growth and development factors. Tomatoes are especially demanding in terms of irrigation, sunlight, which should be abundant, but not excessively strong and prolonged.

In the ancestral homeland of the tomato today are found his ancestors in a wild state. They are as small as a walnut and are far behind the taste of our familiar tomatoes. Even thousands of years ago, the inhabitants of Peru, Chile and Ecuador began to cultivate tomatoes. After the discovery of America, tomatoes began to enter the Old Continent. The name "tomato" comes from the word "tomalt", with which the Aztecs called the red green when they introduced it to Spanish merchants. Initially, however, they were grown as potted plants for decoration. Decades passed before tomatoes were used as food, and the Spaniards were the first to do so.

Tomato varieties have changed significantly over the centuries. Today, genetic engineering allows a huge variety of species (purple, blue, yellow, orange, etc.), with representatives up to 500 g. Tomato is a heat-loving and moisture-loving plant and grows best at a temperature of 25-30 degrees.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has adopted an international trade standard for tomatoes, developed over seven years. According to the standard real tomatoes should be with one of the four shapes - round, ribbed, oblong and cherry (cocktail). Tomatoes must be undamaged, clean, fresh and free from pests. If tomatoes are for sale with the stems, they must be fresh, healthy and with the leaves cleared from the stems.

Today the mass tomato production is the reason why the market is flooded with "artificial" greens, which are far from the real taste and nutritional potential of tomatoes growing outdoors during the warm months. In polyethylene greenhouses are grown only hybrid varieties that have high early maturity. "Zhar" is the earliest Bulgarian semi-determinant hybrid variety, equaling the world standards for early maturity.

Scientists have even been able to identify a gene, a negative mutation, that leads to extremely high tomato yields. This is the effect of the so-called heterosis - when hybrids obtained by crossing two plant species or two breeds of animals are more viable than their ancestors, give more fruit (wool, meat, etc.). Bulgarian tomato growers now grow mainly long-lasting, unripe varieties of tomatoes (like the mass ones in the world).

Composition of tomatoes

Tomatoes are an excellent source of antioxidants, lycopene and beta carotene. They are low in calories and high in vitamin C and A, which strengthen the immune system and break down fats. The natural dye lycopene is a powerful antioxidant. Tomatoes contain a huge wealth of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. We need one large tomato a day to get almost all the vitamin C and vitamin A we need for the day. Tomatoes contain 17 times more iron than milk, twice as much as eggs and three times as much as fish. Ripe fresh tomatoes contain 2-3 times more vitamin C than greens.

The variety is decisive for the chemical composition of tomatoes, which varies depending on the soil and climatic conditions. Tomatoes represent 94.5% water, 0.9% protein, 3.5% carbohydrates, a negligible percentage of starch, 0.7% cellulose, organic acids (citric, malic, oxalic). They contain mineral salts such as potassium, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, sodium, iron and others. Tomatoes contain 30 mg of vitamin C, 0.60 mg of carotene (provitamin A), 0.85 mg of vitamin E, 0.50 mg of vitamin K, 0.50 mg of vitamin PP. Vitamins B1 and B2 are found in smaller amounts.

Selection and storage of tomatoes

The most delicious and healthy tomato is the one ripened at the root, not the picked green ones and ripened in the crate tomatoes. This is an important rule to follow when the choice of tomatoes although today it is reduced almost exclusively to "artificial" ones. When buying tomatoes, make sure they are evenly and intensely red, fleshy and juicy. When the tomato is chewed, it should not bite. Due to the deterioration of the taste of Bulgarian tomatoes There is a tendency in recent years for consumers to buy more pink tomatoes, which are more expensive but resemble the taste of contemporary Bulgarian tomatoes.

If choose real tomatoes, they can be stored in a cool place for up to several days. After this period, the sugars begin to break down quickly, as a result of which the acids increase and the tomatoes become unfit for consumption. Simultaneously, the pectin in them decomposes, they begin to rot and decompose. Uncooked tomatoes should be stored at about 10 degrees.

Tomatoes should be chopped immediately before use with a stainless steel knife because they are not durable. This is due to vitamin C, which is extremely unstable and breaks down quickly in the presence of light and air, as well as in contact with metal. Properly pasteurized and well-preserved tomato juice and canned tomatoes can retain their nutritional value for about 2 years. Collaborators in New Delhi (India) have created a new variety of genetically modified tomatoes that are stored much longer than ordinary tomatoes. Ordinary tomatoes begin to wither and spoil after 15 days of storage, and the fruits of the new variety of GM tomatoes stay fresh for 45 days.

Culinary application of tomatoes

Probably the first associations that come to mind when it comes to tomatoes are shopska salad, canned casserole or delicious tomato sauce, which can be consumed with practically everything - vegetables, meat, pasta, etc. In our country the summer is the season of tomatoes, and in the autumn their canning begins - for centuries we have been preparing tomato juice, various stews or just peeled canned tomatoes. Tomatoes are also the basis of many people's favorite ketchup. Bolognese sauce for pasta and spaghetti would be unthinkable without fresh and ripe tomatoes.

In our country salads such as Shepherd's salad, Shopska, Krchmarska and others. have long been revered for the presence of tomatoes in them, which give them a unique taste. Tomatoes are widely used in cooking, as a gadget for almost all dishes, stews, stews, spaghetti or pasta, pastries such as moussaka, etc. The traditional Bulgarian lyutenitsa has been a favorite of young and old for centuries precisely because of the tomato magic it represents.

In addition to tomato salad, with tomatoes you can prepare a great tomato soup, rice with tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato gazpacho, guacamole and much more.

Benefits of tomatoes

Tomatoes are a faithful helper in the diet. They have diuretic properties and are excellent in diets for kidney stones, hypertension, diabetes (more acidic varieties), cardiovascular disease. Tomatoes are an important food for mento protect against prostate disease.

There are huge advantages of tomato juice, which melts fat and works well in diseases with metabolic disorders, such as arthritis, obesity, diabetes. In gastritis with reduced acidity, peptic ulcer of the stomach or duodenum, severe exhaustion of the body should drink 200 ml of freshly squeezed tomato juice 30 minutes before eating.

A glass of tomato juice provides us with half of the daily human dose of vitamin A and vitamin C. Tomato juice also stimulates the activity of the gastrointestinal tract, reduces the risk of cancer. It is very useful for pregnant and breastfeeding women. It can dissolve animal fats and thus protect the arteries from hardening.

The antioxidant lycopene in tomatoes helps keep our skin radiant and toned. On top of that, lycopene works even more powerfully when properly preserved tomatoes. Tomatoes on the menu increase the level of procollagen in the skin, which implies protection from sunburn. Adequate intake of lycopene and beta carotene during the summer months naturally protects the skin from harmful UV rays. There is even a tomato diet that successfully melts fat.

Researchers in Canada have found that two glasses of tomato juice a day strengthens bones and protects against osteoporosis. Tomato juice is also a rich source of fructose. Like honey, it accelerates the burning of alcohol in the body and is a helper in hangovers. It is even recommended to drink alcohol with a cocktail of honey, lemon juice and tea to prevent headaches in the morning.

Some research is even binding tomatoes with increased libido and improving sex life. The reason lies again in the magic lycopene and the overall toning of the body. According to other studies, it is good to we consume tomatoes with little fat, which helps the body absorb the most useful substances in them. High intakes of fruits and vegetables with carotenoids, such as tomatoes, reduce the risk of cancer.

Harm from tomatoes

Tomatoes may be contraindicated in people with chronic and active allergies. They may have allergic symptoms.