Why were people afraid of tomatoes?
Tomatoes are one of the most common and loved foods around the world. So why did Americans fear them in the 1700’s?
Tomato History in the America’s
Tomatoes were first found in South America, and was a staple of native american cuisine. Native Americans even thinking of the tomato seed as being an aphrodisiac.
When Spanish conquistadors arrived in the Americas, they saw native people eating tomatoes, but were unsettled by the bright red color, which reminded them of a poisonous nightshade plant.
Why were people afraid of tomatoes?
Although the conquistadors knew the plant was not deadly after seeing natives eating it, they would still not adopt the food into their cuisine for a few hundred more years (from 1500-1800). In the meantime, the colonists would take the plant back to Spain and Europe to grow not for culinary uses, but for decoration. Although perfectly safe for consumption, It was believed that if a person ate a tomato, their blood would turn into acid and die. This myth was likely born when royalty would eat tomatoes and die suspiciously. People automatically suspected the poison fruit as the cause of deaths, giving it the name “poison apple”. However, what really triggered the royal deaths was now suspected to be lead poisoning, caused by the acid from tomatoes leaching lead from their pewter plates. However, another condiment also common in diets of the time was vinegar, which is much more acidic than tomatoes. It could be that while tomatoes had a bad reputation and also happened to be acidic, the culprit could also just as easily been vinegar causing lead poisoning, but tomatoes were easier to blame.
The unnecessary fear of tomatoes even spread to tomato worms. A man in Syracuse New York was quoted for the local newspaper stating that he found a five inch tomato worm and that it was “as poisonous as a rattlesnake”. If the worm came in contact with a person, their skin would immediately swell, and a few hours later they would seize up and die. Quite dramatic the rumors were around tomatoes as associated pests. These dramatic and unnecessary ramblings would continue on till 1800’s ..
Thank you, Pizza!
Around 1880, with the invention and popularization of the pizza in Naples, and the introduction of tomato recipes in local papers, was when the tomato finally gained widespread popularity in Europe and North America. After 300 years, Europeans and Americans realized their unnecessary fear of tomatoes and finally adopted the fruit into their cuisine.
So in short, pizza saved the day, tomato worms aren’t poisonous, and don’t eat acidic foods on metal plates.
Sources:
https://www.planetnatural.com/tomato-gardening-guru/history/
