Every tomato, everywhere, all at once 🍅

13 min readDec 27, 2023

When searching for a nice starter line to this post, I came across a quote by an American author, Lewis Grizzard: “It’s difficult to think anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato.”

Dude was onto something way before tomatoes became an internet obsession (yes, I’m also referring to Tomato Girl Summer).

As you may suspect by now, this post has nothing to do with my day job of working as a creative in the Bolt brand team. Yet it has everything to do with my daily tomato stock replenishments at the grocery store (even in this economy). In fact, my infatuation with tomatoes has grown so dominant that my friends automatically send me DMs of everything and anything resembling the subject matter. (This tomato lamp was shared with me 3 times, or more.)

Hence it only seemed reasonable for me to learn a little something about the history, different species, and pop culture references of this beautiful plant called Solanum lycopersicum (Latin name for the tomato plant. See, we are learning already).

So, below is everything that I learned about tomatoes everywhere, all in one place.

Me and my birthday gift from Dana: ‘If you don’t like tomatoes, you can f*** off’

The history of tomatl

Tomatl, you guys, is not a typo. It’s the original name of the plant, given by the indigenous people of Central and South America, where tomatoes were first spotted growing in the wild. When the Spanish arrived in Mexico in the 16th century, they brought tomato seeds back to Europe (some researchers give props to Cortez for that), and the tomatl spread to Italy and was slowly introduced to the local cuisine. In other words, Leonardo Da Vinci (1452–1519), a likely vegetarian, never tasted a tomato in his life. Shakespeare (1564–1616), on the other hand, perhaps did. However, it’s important to note that tomatoes were mostly grown as decorative plants at the time. If you want to know why that is, please continue reading.

Poison of choice

People in Europe feared the tomato for around 200 years because they thought it was poisonous. To be fair, it is a tiny bit, because the leaves, stems and roots of the plant contain solanine (a neurotoxin). But the reason for this poison-gossip trickled down from the upper class. See, rich people used dinnerwear made out of pewter and tomatoes are acidic (pH ranging from 4.3 to 4.9). That acid leached the lead from pewter, resulting in some of them dying of lead poisoning.

If this got you wondering what exactly pH 4.9 level acidity means, then that is slightly less acidic than oranges and pineapples (pH 3–4) and more acidic than cucumbers (pH 5.1–5.7).

PS. pH 7 is neutral (so, water).

PS 2. and if you’re wondering what Carlsberg has to do with the creation of pH scale, then the answer is everything.

The concept of pH (potential of hydrogen) scale was introduced in 1909 by biochemist Søren P. L. Sørensen, who was working at the Carlsberg Laboratory, trying to figure out a better way to express the acidity or alkalinity of a solution.

PS 3. And if you are still wondering, why pH7 is neutral, then:

Later life

In the early 1700s, tomatoes made their way to the Americas. Reportedly, Thomas Jefferson (the Founding Father) grew tomatoes in his vegetable garden in Monticello and quite enjoyed them, thank you very much.

Meanwhile in Europe (Naples to be exact) another important milestone happened: pizza was invented. And it came with a topping of tomatoes, which really popularised the fruit (we’ll get to that soon…).

In the 1900s tomatoes became The Thing in the US, with tomato-based products like ketchup and canned tomatoes sweeping everybody off their feet.

Objection your honour, iz not a fruit

While tomato is botanically a fruit, due to their low sugar content (2 to 3 grams of sugar per 100 grams) they are used as, and popularly considered, a vegetable.

And legally speaking (yes, this shiz went all the way up to the Supreme Court), as a result of Nix v. Hedden(1893), tomatoes were officially considered a vegetable.

All objections sustained, forever.

What’s a tomato made of?

Mostly water (95%).

But lots of other good stuff, too, like vitamin C (ascorbic acid), vitamin A (from beta-carotene), vitamin K, various B vitamins such as folate (vitamin B9), potassium, and antioxidants such as lycopene, beta-carotene, quercetin, and naringenin. Lycopene, by the way, has been linked to reduced risk of certain cancers and it promotes skin health, too.

The simplified chemical equation of a tomato is:

Choosing my dinner. Aka, one of the 100 tomato pictures from my camera roll

Free pickup line: Did you know that the biggest tomato in the world is heavier than a regular newborn?

Yep, it weighed 5.2 kgs.

A guy named Douglas Smith spent more than two months carefully growing that giant tomato, which is actually six regular beefsteak tomatoes fused into one. I just need to add in a quote of his, because, well, I had no idea ‘competitive vegetable growing’ existed as such:

“This has been an ambition of mine for a couple of years, now,” Smith, from Stanstead Abbotts, England, said. “Giant tomatoes have been my main focus in terms of competitive vegetable growing.”

Money makes the tomatoes go round

According to the internet, the most expensive tomato seeds sold are the Summer Sun. A kilo of those badboys was sold to tomato farmers in Europe by Hazera Genetics for $350,000. That’s equal to 5.4 kgs of gold. Looks like somebody loves tomatoes more than me (and has fewer financial limitations in life).

Summer Sun, somehow looks less expensive than I imagined

When trying to find out what the most expensive tomato dish is, I came across the one called “The best tomato in NY is naked” in HaSalon at Hell’s Kitchen. This single chopped-up tomato with some olive oil and salt will make a 24-dollar dent into your wallet.

Then again, if you apply girl math: if you only have one per month, it’s just a teeny tiny 0,8 dollars a day, which you can easily save by bringing your own bag to grocery shopping.

Probably the most expensive tomato dish I’ve had. It was called ‘tomato in 4 ways’ or something like that, and the thing on top is indeed tomato sorbet. (Location: Restaurant at the Octant Hotels Douro, Portugal)

What’s the best tomato that I’ve personally had?

Glad you asked. This wondrous moment happened this year, when I was hand-delivered tomatoes from Spain by my bestie Liis. Name of the species: Amela. It’s also The Superior Taste winner, 2021, in case you were wondering.

My other tomato highlight of the year happened at The Baest restaurant (in Copenhagen), where I spontaneously happened to order a dish of fresh tomatoes with parmesan. The mix entailed some really fresh and sour-ish Green Zebra tomatoes. Later on, I also realised that The Baest is the best place for tomatoes in Copenhagen, a city that also has several Michelin-star restaurants.

And you ask about my less boujee choices, then my everyday supermarket go-tos are Kumatos.

Tomato order at The Baest, October 2023, solo trip to Cph.

Where is the kingdom of tomatoes?

If we go by numbers, then China is the world’s largest tomato producer with 64.768 million metric tons, i.e. 34.67% of the world’s total production. In more conceivable terms, that is the weight of 6,404 Eiffel Towers.
In even more conceivable terms, these are Big boi numbers.

But if we are not talking cold hard quantities here, then after a quick googling sesh, I can tell you that 2 out of the top 3 best tomatoes originate from Italy.

Paint me like one of your French tomatoes

The most famous artwork depicting a tomato is from Picasso (1944).

He painted the ‘Plant de tomates’ during WWII, as a symbol of hope for France’s victory against Nazi Germany. Picasso stayed in Paris throughout the war and as the allied forces were inching closer to Paris, his dream of liberation became more real.

He noticed the potted tomato growing next to his window. This was not uncommon, because the food rations really limited what people could have access to. He gazed at the plant and noted:“The tomato plants are an earthy and decorative metaphor for the human need to survive and flourish even within the constraints of war.”

Another famous tomato-inspired artwork is one of the varieties of Andy Warhol’s 32 “Campbell Soup Cans” (1962). Warhol didn’t choose Campbell’s cans randomly, by the way, this was his go-to meal as a struggling artist.

And here’s Warhol, drowning in a tomato soup on the Esquire cover in 1969.

The largest tomato fight in the world is La Tomatina in Buñol, Spain

Like many famous events, this one got started quite spontaneously when a few people decided to throw tomatoes at each other in 1945. Now, about 20,000 people participate every year, traveling there from around the world (surprisingly, only 8% of participants are Spanish).

Approximately 120 metric tons of tomatoes are used (that’s the weight of a Boeing 737). I don’t mean to be the Scrooge of ‘A Tomato Carol’, but this sounds extremely wasteful.

Did somebody say heirloom?

You’ve probably heard the term ‘heirloom tomatoes’ on fancy restaurant menus and at farmers' markets. And you might even know that they are more expensive and taste better than supermarket tomatoes, but have you ever dared to ask why?

It’s all about dem seeds. The heirloom tomato seeds are passed down from season to season, taken by the farmers from the tomato plants that produced the best fruit. This process of selecting crème de la crème only, allows the desirable traits like juiciness, color, shape, and size to flourish. Heirloom tomatoes are also often open-pollinated, which means that they are pollinated naturally, by birds, insects, wind, or human hands.

How long does it take to grow one?

Patience isn’t a virtue, it’s a must for anyone attempting to grow their own tomatoes from scratch. Here is the general timeline:

From seed to seedling: 5 to 10 days to germinate, then transplanted into larger containers after 5 to 7 days.
Transplanting seedlings: 5 to 7 weeks after germination, when the plants have developed their first leaves, they’re ready to be transplanted to larger pots or the garden.
Growing in the garden: 50 to 85 days from transplanting to reach maturity (longer for beefsteak toms, less for cherry toms)
Harvesting: 70 to 110 days from germination.

So, the total ETA is 4 months. Makes you think about life differently.

Money doesn’t grow on trees, but tomatoes do

You can imagine my surprise when I stepped into the Copenhagen Botanical Gardens and saw a tall Tamarillo (aka Tree Tomato) plant standing in front of me. Okay, to be fair, it’s not actually related to the tomatoes I have been talking about here, but it’s called a tree tomato regardless, since it resembles one and the fruits are edible.

Tamarillo originally comes from the Andean highlands of South America

Houston, we have found the tomato

The first time people grew and ate a tomato in space was in 2015 (it happened as part of NASA’s Veggie program, in the International Space Station), but in recent days a much bigger piece of space tomato gossip has been flying around.

Namely, when NASA astronaut Frank Rubio returned to Earth in September after completing the longest single spaceflight for an American astronaut (371 days), he had lost a tomato somewhere in the International Space Station. Lots of accusations followed — of him eating the tomato and ruining the space-vegetable-science project and so on. Then, three months later, the missing tomato was suddenly found (they didn’t specify the location or the condition).

Exactly like my Airpods, which I had announced missing, only to find them much later from a box of shampoos and other stuff that has nothing to do with Airpods.

The most famous piece of tomato furniture

…is most probably the Finnish designer Eero Aarnio’s Tomato Chair. This 1971 icon can be bought from the Finnish Design Store for 3,305€.

The original chairs were made of fiberglass (a very innovative material at the time), which allowed the creation of smooth-flowing curves.

The most famous tomato cocktail

…is Bloody Mary. Which was, according to legend number one, invented in the 1920s at the New York Bar in Paris (later known as Harry’s New York Bar).

But if you’re a margarita girl like me, please check out this tomato margarita recipe, as tomato as asap.

The most famous tomato movie

…is quite bad. It’s a low-budget horror comedy called “Attack of the Killer Tomatoes” (1978) that depicts tomatoes turning into sentient creatures and attacking humans. Rotten Tomatoes* rating: 27%.

When it comes to tomato-inspired movie quotes, there is no clear winner, but the one worth highlighting is from Pulp Fiction. A tomato joke delivered by Mia Wallace:

*Rotten Tomatoes = the name for this movie rating website is inspired by the old theatrical tradition of throwing tomatoes at a stage performer to express disapproval. Like the movie reviewers throw their ratings on the site.

Tomato girl summer

If you spent any seconds on Tik Tok this summer, you very likely came across a #tomatogirlsummer video. The plot twist of the story is that the trend has nothing to do with tomatoes per se.

According to Teen Vogue, the tomato girl aesthetic is largely inspired by the Mediterranean coast or anywhere where tomato-based dishes are popular. “Think Amalfi Gardens, Santorini beaches, and Barcelona streets. In addition to frolicking through Europe, you can find tomato aesthetic lovers reading romance novels at cafés, lounging at the beach, and watching the sunset from their backyard garden.”

But even outside of this tikkie tokkie trend, tomatoes have gained some real clout over the last year: social conversations about tomatoes have increased by 22.54%.

What I thought tomato girl summer would looke like

What tomato girl summer really looked like

Do you want to smell like a tomato?

I know I do. Here are some of the most interesting tomato-smelling perfumes that I could identify.

Demeter — Tomato
“We love this scent so much. It’s really a verb; picking tomatoes. The scent the tomato leaves leave on your hands. It reminds our co-founder Christopher Gable of his Grandfather’s farm when he was a kid.”

2. Henrik Vibskov — L’eau Rouge, Heirloom
“It smelled vibrant and herby, like when you touch the stem of a tomato plant.”

3. MiN New York — Chef’s Table
“Top notes are Basil, Bergamot and Sage; middle notes are Tomato, Black Currant and Turkish Rose; base note is Tonka Bean”

Or do you want your room to smell like one?

Of course, sir, welcome to my humble tomato abode.

Loewe — Tomato Leaves candle

2. Malin Goetz — Tomato Candle

3. Jo Malone — Green Tomato Vine Diffuser

4. Carrière Frères — Tomato Room Spray

Or do you perhaps want to make a tomato-shaped ice sculpture?

Here’s how: https://www.instagram.com/p/CvusuLeuHaQ/?img_index=8

Do some weird people hate tomatoes?

Yes, and there’s a dedicated ‘I hate tomatoes’ thread on reddit that you can check out. It was a hard read.

But to end this tomato encyclopedia on a positive note, here are all the other cute tomato-shaped objects I found as part of my research.

Thank you for joining me on this journey. If you know of any other tomato-themed products or facts, do not hesitate to email me at ennusteliisa@gmail.com

Every tomato, everywhere, all at once 🍅

So, below is everything that I learned about tomatoes everywhere, all in one place.

But to end this tomato encyclopedia on a positive note, here are all the other cute tomato-shaped objects I found as part of my research.

Written by Liisa Ennuste