Tomoato ..... the Red Fruit - No It Can Be Black & White and Vegetable Too !!!

Perhaps, we eat this delicious fruit daily – it is the ‘tomato’ - the edible, red fruit -  Solanum lycopersicum, commonly known as a tomato plant. The species is believed to have originated in the South American Andes and its use as a food that is now widely grown all over the World.  The tomato is consumed in diverse ways, including raw, as an ingredient in many dishes, sauces, salads, and drinks. While it is botanically a fruit, it is considered a vegetable for culinary purposes.   The plants typically grow to 1–3 meters (3–10 ft) in height and have a weak stem that often sprawls over the ground and vines over other plants. An average common tomato weighs approximately 100 grams. The confusion about 'fruit' and 'vegetable' arises because of the differences in usage between scientists and cooks.  More of that towards the end. Tomatoes have  lycopene,  a carotenoid pigment that has long been associated with the deep red color of many tomatoes. Tomatoes are widely known for their outstanding antioxidant content. There are literally hundreds of different tomato varieties. We usually choose our favorite varieties by some combination of flavor, texture, and appearance.  In Chennai market, you would find the local (nattu) thakkali and the Bangalore variety.  Intake of tomatoes has long been linked to heart health. Fresh tomatoes and tomato extracts have been shown to help lower total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides.    In recent times, Bangalore’s  own high-yielding tomato variety is becoming global. It is stated that Farmers and  agriculture entrepreneurs in seven countries  want to import the seeds of ‘Arka Rakshak’, the famed tomato variety developed by the Bangalore-based Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR). Arka Rakshak, developed after a five-year research by a team of the IIHR scientists, is already creating waves in the country’s horticultural sector as farmers have got yields of up to 19 kg per plant from this variety.  It is stated that  Arka Rakshak’s popularity is not just due to its high-yielding quality, but also owing to its resistance to three diseases of tomato: leaf curl virus, bacterial wilt and early blight. …. And tomatoes need not be red !!  Away in UK, at Devon, Horticulturalists have grown the world's first black and white tomato plants – experts at Sutton Seeds, in Devon, blended rare strains to create the plant.  They previously made the world's first black tomato, named Indigo Rose.  Sutton Seeds mixed it with a white-cherry tomato strain to make new type.  For their latest creation, the green-fingered gardeners blended Indigo Rose with a white-cherry tomato type to produce the ground-breaking black and white plant. While the black tomatoes have a more savoury taste, the white ones pack a sweet and fruity punch, the growers say.  A spokesman for Sutton Seeds, which is based in Paignton, Devon, said: 'This year we have upped the ante by grafting Indigo Rose to a creamy-white cherry variety to produce the first black and white tomato plant.  The American-bred purple tomatoes contained anthocyanin, an antioxidant said to help fight diabetes and obesity.  A spokesperson of the farm is quoted as saying - ‘They are not as sweet as normal tomatoes and have a more savoury flavour, and are nice roasted or eaten in salads’. Over the years there are lot of re-definitions – now ‘tomatoes’ are no longer ‘fresh attractive red’ but would come in black and white too.  Now to the Q of whether tomato is a fruit or vegetable – though technically fruit, tomatoes fall under the category of "vegetable," according to the Supreme Court in USA.  The high court issued this 1893 tomato ruling in a case brought by members of the Nix family against Edward Hedden, collector at the Port of New York, to recover the fees they spent transporting tomatoes. The Nixes sued under the Tariff of 1883, which required taxes on imported vegetables - but not fruit. Botanically, any seed-bearing structure formed from an angiosperm's (a flowering plant's) ovary is a fruit. Since a tomato protects and contains the seeds of its host plant, the juicy sphere is technically a fruit. The court unanimously decided that the scientific classification of a tomato doesn't change common language. Therefore, the Tariff Act intended to tax tomatoes.  The opinion of the court read: Botanically speaking, tomatoes are the fruit of a vine, just as are cucumbers, squashes, beans, and peas. But in the common language of the people, whether sellers or consumers of provisions, all these are vegetables which are grown in kitchen gardens, and which, whether eaten cooked or raw, are, like potatoes, carrots, parsnips, turnips, beets, cauliflower, cabbage, celery, and lettuce, usually served at dinner in, with, or after the soup, fish, or meats which constitute the principal part of the repast, and not, like fruits generally, as dessert. With regards – S. Sampathkumar 23^rd Dec 2014.