Italian Tomatoes: Tracing its Colorful History

If you like to cook Italian food, one of the ingredients that you will have to use and try in a major way are tomatoes. There are thousands of food and different types of dishes that make use of tomatoes as the principal or main ingredients or the basis for the recipes. Tomatoes are used mainly due to its color, flavor and versatility. The tomato is widely utilized all over the world because of the taste and its health benefits.

Tomatoes Everywhere

In case you don't already know, there are many species of this fruit. These tomato fruits are belong to the so-called nightshade family of plants. The plants can normally grow to as high as one to three meters in height. One of its characteristics is that it has weak stem system that regularly spreads all over the earth which is why growers make use of pegs or trellises for it to climb on. This plant is known to be perennial because of its innate habitat. Nevertheless, the plants are often grown outdoors with temperate climates. If you will harvest tomato fruits, you will get an average of 100 to 105 grams in weight.

It was during the 1600s where people started utilizing tomatoes in their dishes. One place in

which tomatoes are widely and extensively used in cooking is in Naples, Italy. The people here have mainly used Italian tomatoes in their cooking and they have been enamored by the bright red hue of this ingredients plus its distinct aroma.

Scientific Enhancements

The Italian tomatoes, which are also called the San Marzano tomatoes is one of the several

varieties of plum tomatoe. Most of the great chefs all over the world are considering this kind of tomato to be the best and ideal tomatoes when it comes to cooking- especially for gourmet foods. The San Marzano tomatoes are characterized by its pointed and thinner appearance in comparison to other tomatoes. The flesh of these plum tomatoes have a much thicker appearance and has fewer seeds. When it comes to taste, it has a stronger, less acidic and sweeter taste. In fact, there are people who describe the taste of this San Marzano tomato as bittersweet.

As the demand for San Marzano tomatoes increased, studies were conducted on it. In the United

States, these San Marzano tomatoes have been subjected to genetic studies which also served as the basis of genes for the creation of another famous paste tomato called the Roma tomato. The Roma tomato is basically a cross breed between the San Marzano one and two other species. One of the two is a variety or hybrid of the San Marzano tomato. This Roma tomato was presented in 1955 by the ARS or the Agricultural Research Service.
 
In Italian food, tomatoes (especially the San Marzano and Roma) are widely used in various dishes especially pasta, salads and soups. There are so many ways to cook tomatoes – it can be used in as it is in salads, in sandwiches, and be made as the main ingredient in cooking gourmet and main courses. The only limit is your imagination!