Thursday Thirteen

One of my favourite things to eat are tomatoes. Today, I'm going to share 13 fun facts about this delicious food item. Yummy!!

1.The largest tomato plant ever grown reached 19.8 m (65 ft) in length. It was was grown by Nutriculture Ltd of Mawdesley, Lancashire, UK. It was the year 2000 and it was of the "Sungold" cultivar

2.Tomatoes are usually referred to as vegetables, but they are actually a fruit!

3.The botanical family of tomatoes is the same nightshade family as tobacco, potatoes, aubergine (eggplants), chilli peppers, and the poisonous belladonna.

4.At first, tomatoes were used by our european ancestors as tabletops and ornamental plants, since they were widely believed to be poisonous (due to their belonging to the same family of the poisonous plant belladonna)

5.While the fruit is perfectly safe and healthy to eat, the plant's leaves are actually toxic!

6.After the american colonization by the Spaniards, tomatoes were quickly spread to all their caribbean colonies, and were later moved to the Philippines, where they spread to many different regions in Asia. By 1540, there are the first reported cultivations in Europe, where the Mediterranean climate was ideal.

7.In the 18th century, the Encyclopaedia Britannica reported tomatoes as being used daily in soups and broths, and consumption of tomatoes rapidly increased during the century, reaching their peak in the Victorian age, when large-scale production was widespread in glasshouses, most famously in Worthing.

8.According to the UN Food & Agriculture Organisation, the whole world produces around 125 million tons of tomatoes per year.

9.Tomatoes with a brighter, deeper color are usually not only better-tasting, but they also contain higher quantities of the most important and peculiar of tomatoes' micronutrients: lycopene.

10.Bathing in tomato juice is an effective way to remove the smell if a skunk sprays you or a pet.

11.Wash your hair with them after swimming in a pool in order to remove the chlorine from your hair.

12.The tomato is the world’s most popular fruit.

13.Tomatoes are rich in vitamins A and C and fibre, and are cholesterol free.