Introduction
The tomato is a vegetable among the most used in the world, scientifically identified as Solanum lycopersicum of the Solenaceae family, very important for Italian cooking.
It is an annual plant that bears fruit berries of various sizes and shapes, always red color, that it was actually discovered by Europe, and Italy in particular, only recently. Its origin is in fact American, of the central and southern area, from northern Mexico to Peru. It was known to the Aztecs under the name xitomatl, from which derives the term tomato in English. At the discovery of America, the tomato was introduced to Europe, like many other American origin vegetables, but it was not until two centuries later that its use in the kitchen became important. Cortes was, in 1540, who brought the first plants in the Old World, while in Italy it was introduced in 1596. Given the distrust of some plants considered wrongly poisonous, the plant initially had only decorative functions. In Italy, the tomato found in the South its most favorable environment and even today most of the Italian production is located in the south.
In fact, the parts of the tomato plant are toxic due to the solanine content, impossible to eliminate even with the cooking, which is the case with the fruit, which, however, has very low concentrations and considered harmless. The fruit of the tomato has very important and beneficial nutritional properties, antioxidant powers for the prevention of prostate cancer.
Its use is extensive both fresh and processed. It can be used fresh in salads and in many other dishes, or baked to obtain the sauces, and also industrial making as well as homemade. But it is also used as a beverage, both alone and seasoned with some spices and combined with some alcohol.
The cultivation
As easily understood from its origin, the tomato, for its growth, needs warm climates, and its fruiting is annual because they can not survive in the winter. Its cultivation can be carried out in greenhouses, which in seedbeds or in the countryside. Once it is grown in greenhouses, or in seedbeds, usually the plant is transferred into the ground. It is a plant with a creeping stem that so it must be sheltered from the moist soil in contact with the fruit could ruin them. So to avoid these problems, it is use of the support to bring the plant upward, even though some cultivars may not need as particularly robust. These cultivars are generally used for industrial processing and cooking because their too strong peels are not suggested for fresh consumption. It is however also solves the problem by placing some films on the ground so that the fruits are not in contact with the ground. The plant for its growth prefers the excellent sun exposure, although light shades are healthful to the fruits in hot climates. In addition the growing of tomatoes should be well fertilized and irrigation should be average, and not abundant. The vegetable is mainly made up of water and irrigation must be targeted not to cause trauma due to excessive temperature. This is why the plant should be watered in the cooler hours of the day. The tomato is picked by hand and rarely with machinery. Depending on the species, the harvest takes place between 40 and 120 days from grafting.
The species
There are many different varieties of tomatoes, although the ones that can be found in markets all belong to red colors. However, there are white species such as the White queen and the White tomesol; yellow varieties like Douce de Picardie, the Wendy and Lemon; pink as the Pink thai; orange, green and purple like the Crimea black and Perfect purple. Other varieties are distinguished by shape, like that long of San Marzano. Then there’s that big and round like Beefteak, good for tomatoes with rice, or those in the shape of cherries, as the famous Cherry tomatoes and many more. The most simple in the cultivation are the Amateur bushy, with medium-sized tomatoes and juicy; The Moneymaker, very productive and consistent from medium to small tomatoes; the Gartenperle, early and bushy recommended for cultivation flooded with tomatoes cherry type; and Marmande, tardive, with large and tasty tomatoes.
The tomato in Italy
Italy is the country that has made the tomato in the kitchen its symbol, and in no other nation this food turns out to be so important. It seems that the origin of this tradition is the city of Parma in the mid-nineteenth century, where the Institute Technical of Parma, Professor Rognoni began the experiments in 1865 that would culminate in 1895 with the first work of conservation and treatment. Piedmont also became interested in the tomato processing, and it was Francesco Cirio, born in Asti (Piedmont) to found the first real industry of preserves, but in Naples, in 1875. Today the canning industry in Italy occupies a prominent place and use the tomato sauce seems to know no rest, being a food used all the days in all homes.
