It is interesting
Mister Tomato 20.12.2011
Appearance of "red miracle"
In Russia, the first information about the tomatoes appeared in the time of at the Catherine II. The Empress expressed her wish to listen to the report "about the wonderful fruits and unusual plants" on European fields. For that Russian ambassador was forced to leave all things in Paris and in summer in hot 1780 to travel to faraway Russia. In the luggage rack of bulky postcoach there were baskets with unprecedented till that time in Russia fruits.
Only in 1850 tomatoes also started to be cultivated as vegetables there. The first plantations were established in the Crimea, Georgia and the Lower Volga region. Thus, tomatoes started to be on the table as food not more than 150 years ago.
Redesigned, so useful
It is commonly believed that fresh fruits and vegetables are much healthier without any culinary treatment. With tomatoes it seems to be the opposite situation.
Scientists say that cooked in any way tomatoes have more value than fresh ones. As a sauce or stew in stew they increase their useful properties, thus more effectively protect us from diseases of the cardiovascular system and help to prevent from cancer.
Scientists from New York believe that due to heating useful components of tomatoes are easier to be digested. Tomato is one of three champions for the content of vitamin A, being second only after carrots. For example, a glass of tomato juice contains 1 mg of the vitamin, and human being needs every day to 3.5 mg of it. In addition to carotene tomatoes contain many other valuable substances: vitamins C, B1, B2, B6, PP, K, folic acid, biotin, as well as a wide variety of mineral salts.
Medicines from the garden
Did you know that lycopene, contained in tomatoes, reduces the risk of cancer? Surprisingly that amount of more lycopene is in tomatoes, blended in blender or baked ones than in fresh ones. In order to get a real use from them, we need to eat 10 servings a week (about 2 tomatoes is one serving).
The minimum consumption of tomatoes is about 17 kg per year per person.
Especially they are useful for people with diseases of the cardiovascular system and gastrointestinal tract, obesity and disorder of salt metabolism. In folk medicine, juice and pulp of fresh tomatoes is used in the treatment of purulent wounds and abscesses. Due to high content of potassium and vitamin C tomatoes are necessary to future mothers.
Recently the tomato attracted the attention of narcologists. One of the versions for efficient control of nicotine addiction is as follows: one should provide body with enough amount of nicotinic acid with food, then addiction to cigarettes will stop. Necessary dose will be provided with red and green tomatoes. If it is not sufficient, double the dose!
Tomatoes in ... beauty bag
The cosmetic effect of fresh tomatoes no one can deny. For example, in order to avoid venous edema disturbing by the end of the day healers recommend toapply slices of fresh tomato on feet. Mask from fresh tomato slurry perfectly nourishes dry skin, especially if you add a pinch of starch slurry and confine pores acneiform rash.
Before holiday season and vacation it is useful to remind about wonderful property of tomatoes to even tan also applying fresh pulp. And moreover beauticians recommend before sunbathing to keep tomato diet: tan will "stick" more and more and look more even. By the way tomato gives to tanning pinky shade.
More delicious among delicious
With a huge variety of types, tomatoes vary by sugar and acid. Black cherry-shaped tomatoes - red or yellow are sweet all over the year. Yellow tomatoes are less acidic than red, but they can be mixed with red to give to a dish a more delicate taste and spectacular look. Plum tomatoes are thick and fleshy, they are ideal for cooking sauces and for canning.
Do not store tomatoes in refrigerator - cold kills their flavor. Keep tomatoes in refrigerator should be only when they are overripen. In all other cases, store them at room temperature away from direct sunlight not to let them become soft. Underripe tomatoes can be placed in a paper bag and to speed their ripening add an apple to them.
To clear the tomatoes make a small cross at the bottom of each, then pour boiling water and leave for 30-60 seconds. Then drain and put in cold water. Peel must be removed very easily.
Tomato Records
The heaviest tomato was grown in 1986 Gordon Graham in Oklahoma, USA, it weighed 3.51 kg.
The largest tomato bush was grown in 2000 in County Lancashire in the UK, it reached 19.8 m in length.
Nowadays world production of tomatoes is 400 million tons a year and marks for trade marks for products, based on tomatoes, have been registered as 8 million.
Revenge in Indian way
Tomato is the most common vegetable plant in the world. Information about the origin of tomato and its early history is quite poor. However, most researchers consider mountainous areas of Peru and Ecuador the birthplace of this plant.
The history of tomatoes as well as of other plants of the New World is wrapped with legends. One of them says that the Mayan tribe, realizing that anyway they will be destroyed by Spanish conquerors, decided to make for them a terrible and long-term revenge. The Elder of the tribe suggested to show to the Europeans tobacco and to teach them how to smoke "Quiet grass will conquer the world of palefaces and then their men, women and children will be sick for centuries after our death."
Conquistadors were really tricked by unusual dope but as near the tobacco rows Maya grew delicious golden-red berries they adopted also wonderful "golden apples» - pomo de oro.
Tasty and ... safe!
Imagine, just 200 years ago tomatoes were considered poisonous! That's how they wrote about tomatoes in the book "Complete Guide of Gardening," published in of Denmark in 1774: "The fruits are extremely harmful because they make crazy those who eat them." It’s interesting that in North America tomatoes were generally considered as deadly poison. It is known from the history about such a famous case when for the sake of the English King George tomatoes were supposed to be used as poison for the Commander-in-Chief of rebels of the Northern States, General George Washington, who after "poisoning" lived for many years and became the first U.S. president.
In 1811 in St. Petersburg "Botanical Dictionary" was issued in which it was carefully reported that tomato "though it is considered as poisonous plant, but in Italy it is eaten with pepper, garlic and butter and in Portugal and Bohemia they even make sauces with it that is distinguished by very pleasant sourish taste".
