Of the many varied ways to use tomatoes, there are relatively few people who put it on their breakfast cereal or use it in a dessert, as one would customarily use any other fruit. But tomato is definitely a fruit belonging to the nightshade family. Its scientific name is S. Lycopersicum. There is nothing on earth that compares to a freshly-picked tomato; it's like eating sunshine. The best way to enjoy tomatoes this way, particularly in Elmira, New York, is to have the best homemade tomato cage.
While the vast majority of tomatoes are red in color, they come in every other color of the rainbow apart from perhaps blue. You can find them in all shapes and sizes in anything from dark purple to bright orange; there are even striped varieties. Green tomatoes signal a lack of ripeness, although in a pinch they can be used in green tomato pie or fried, as in the movie, "Fried Green Tomatoes."
If you can manage to find your way to the kitchen from the garden without scoffing the lot, you can find many, many ways to prepare and serve tomatoes. In the warmer late spring and summer months, they are often put in salads and sandwiches. All year round, they are found in soups, stews and sauces. It is a strange fact that tomatoes contain different types of nutrients depending on whether they are served fresh or cooked.
Raw tomatoes are full of vitamins A and C, while cooked tomatoes are richer in lycopenes, which are important anti-oxidants. Tomatoes are also fat-free and extremely low in calories. Tomatoes are rich sources of folic acid, choline, lutein and beta-carotene. They also provide valuable fiber, both soluble and structural.
As well as being a hugely popular ingredient in spaghetti sauce, tomatoes are also the main ingredient in the popular American condiment, ketchup or catsup. At one time, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher tried to convince the public that ketchup was a vegetable for the purposes of school dinners. People put ketchup on just about everything from french fries and hamburgers to scrambled eggs. It is a very unusual home indeed that does not contain a bottle of ketchup.
Where the climate is hot and sunny, tomato plants can grow huge. This is why it is useful to employ a cage to contain the plants and prop the fruits off the ground where they can be accessed by pests. They are commonly grown in hanging baskets or grow bags, sacks of compost that people cut slits into and jam the plants inside while they are still small.
In locales where heat and sunshine are not abundant, tomatoes may be grown in a hothouse, conservatory or greenhouse, especially during the early spring when there is still a threat of frost. Withholding all but the most necessary water will foster flowering. When blossoms drop and the fruits start to form is a good time to water more thoroughly, but not so much as to dilute the flavor of the fruit. Tomatoes attract pests like big, fat, green caterpillars and small black aphids.
Love apples have their uses outside the kitchen, as well. Hairdressers in the late 20th century used to recommend their clients rinse their freshly-permed locks in tomato juice to neutralize the smell. Their acidity can also help brighten up a dull saucepan.
While the vast majority of tomatoes are red in color, they come in every other color of the rainbow apart from perhaps blue. You can find them in all shapes and sizes in anything from dark purple to bright orange; there are even striped varieties. Green tomatoes signal a lack of ripeness, although in a pinch they can be used in green tomato pie or fried, as in the movie, "Fried Green Tomatoes."
If you can manage to find your way to the kitchen from the garden without scoffing the lot, you can find many, many ways to prepare and serve tomatoes. In the warmer late spring and summer months, they are often put in salads and sandwiches. All year round, they are found in soups, stews and sauces. It is a strange fact that tomatoes contain different types of nutrients depending on whether they are served fresh or cooked.
Raw tomatoes are full of vitamins A and C, while cooked tomatoes are richer in lycopenes, which are important anti-oxidants. Tomatoes are also fat-free and extremely low in calories. Tomatoes are rich sources of folic acid, choline, lutein and beta-carotene. They also provide valuable fiber, both soluble and structural.
As well as being a hugely popular ingredient in spaghetti sauce, tomatoes are also the main ingredient in the popular American condiment, ketchup or catsup. At one time, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher tried to convince the public that ketchup was a vegetable for the purposes of school dinners. People put ketchup on just about everything from french fries and hamburgers to scrambled eggs. It is a very unusual home indeed that does not contain a bottle of ketchup.
Where the climate is hot and sunny, tomato plants can grow huge. This is why it is useful to employ a cage to contain the plants and prop the fruits off the ground where they can be accessed by pests. They are commonly grown in hanging baskets or grow bags, sacks of compost that people cut slits into and jam the plants inside while they are still small.
In locales where heat and sunshine are not abundant, tomatoes may be grown in a hothouse, conservatory or greenhouse, especially during the early spring when there is still a threat of frost. Withholding all but the most necessary water will foster flowering. When blossoms drop and the fruits start to form is a good time to water more thoroughly, but not so much as to dilute the flavor of the fruit. Tomatoes attract pests like big, fat, green caterpillars and small black aphids.
Love apples have their uses outside the kitchen, as well. Hairdressers in the late 20th century used to recommend their clients rinse their freshly-permed locks in tomato juice to neutralize the smell. Their acidity can also help brighten up a dull saucepan.
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