Tomato

Description
The tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) is a plant belonging to the family Solanaceae (nightshade family). It is related to the potato and the eggplant. While technically a fruit, the tomato is commonly considered a vegetable because of its uses.

Although the tomato was cultivated in Mexico and Peru for centuries before the European conquest, it is one of the newest plants to be used on a large scale for human food. The name of the tomato comes from the Nahuatl language which was spoken by the Aztecs and other groups in Central America. The Spanish explorers brought back the tomato seed from South America to use it purely for ornamentation puroposes, referring to the tomato as the "love apple." This is probably because of the fact that the tomato was commonly viewed as poisonous. This view has some basis in reality as the fruit of the tomato is the only part of the plant that isn't toxic. It is only in the past century that the tomato has become recognized as a valuable food.

Tomatoes have been used in salads as early as the 1600s. In the 1800s, the tomato was reintroduced as a food plant and now ranks third amongst US vegetable crops. While the tomato is still used as a salad vegetable, three quarters of tomatoes are processed into juice, canned tomato products, soups, catsup and tomato pastes. In Italy, tomato seed oil is extracted from the seeds left over from the canning process. The tomato is also used to create the anti-biotic tomatine.

There are numerous varieties of tomato, ranging from the large beefsteak tomato to the very small cherry tomato. Tomato shapes vary from spherical to elongate; sizes range from 0.6 inches across to more than 3 inches across. In recent years, heirloom tomatoes have become trendy in cooking and gardening.

Cooking with Tomatoes
To remove the skin off of a tomato, submerge a tomato a pot of boiling water for about a minute. Use a slotted spoon to remove the tomato from the pot. Let the tomato cool, then peel the skin off.