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Tomato

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A colorful display of tomato-based dishes including a burger, pizza, and lasagna.

What is a Tomato?

A tomato is a yummy fruit that many people eat like a vegetable. It comes from a plant called Solanum lycopersicum. Tomatoes belong to the nightshade family, which also includes potatoes, tobacco, and chili peppers.

Where Do Tomatoes Come From?

Tomatoes originally came from western South America. Later, the Spanish brought them to other parts of the world during the Columbian exchange in the 1500s. Today, tomatoes grow all around the world.

Why Do We Love Tomatoes?

Tomatoes are loved for their savory flavor. They are used in many dishes like pasta and pizza sauces, soups, salads, and ketchup. People also enjoy them as fresh juice or in drinks like the Bloody Mary cocktail.

Fun Facts About Tomatoes

  • Tomato plants grow as vines and usually live for one year.
  • There are many kinds of tomatoes with different sizes, colors, shapes, and tastes.
  • In North America, people say "tomato" as /təˈmeɪtoʊ/, but in Britain, it sounds like /təˈmɑːtoʊ/. This difference became famous in a song by George Gershwin!
  • Even though tomatoes are scientifically fruits, most people treat them as vegetables in cooking.

Images

An old herbarium sheet showing one of Europe's earliest known tomato specimens from the 1540s.
A San Marzano tomato, a special type of tomato often used for making sauces.
Fresh tomatoes available in a UK supermarket.
Fresh tomatoes growing in a greenhouse in Ghana.
A handful of ripe tomatoes being held by someone's hands at a farm in Hawaii.
Young tomato plants just starting to grow from their seeds in a garden.
A healthy tomato plant growing 27 days after seeds were planted, shown in a bucket under indoor lighting.
A beautiful tomato flower growing in Catalonia.
A healthy tomato plant showing both flowers and ripe fruit, grown from seeds.
A green tomato growing in a garden in Oxford, UK.
A scientific diagram showing how different types of tomatoes evolved over time through selective breeding and the introduction of new genetic traits.
Fresh tomatoes for sale at a market in France.
A colorful display of different heirloom tomato varieties, including Brandywine, Black Krim, and Green Zebra.

Related articles

Fruit
South America
Columbian exchange
Pasta
Pizza
Salad

This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on Tomato, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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