The Riverside Journals - Festivals Issue 38 - FULL | Page 107

ost of my attention in the greenhouse at the moment is
given over to the welfare of my precious tomato plants! The
reward for looking after them well is a bountiful harvest of
myriad types of tomato which are then used in all sorts
of recipes and, very importantly for me, the producing of
homemade passata which can then be frozen and provide
me with a base for soups and sauces all through the winter.
Tomatoes, botanically speaking, are in fact a fruit but
are very often used and thought of as a vegetable. The Latin
name for tomato is the impressive sounding title, Solanum
lycopersicum. Being part of the nightshade family, the
tomato is a surprising relation to hot chillies, sweet peppers,
aubergines, and most surprisingly of all, the humble spud!
The demand for and consumption of tomatoes continues
to grow from all areas of the world, and economically it is a
very important crop indeed. As demand grows plant breeders are busy creating new varieties to tempt our taste
buds and satisfy our quest for maximum nutritional value. All of us are increasingly health conscious and are more
aware of diet and nutrition from the food we eat. A somewhat overused phrase of late is describing something as
a ‘superfood’, but in the case of tomatoes that description could well be justified. Scientists have discovered that
tomatoes are a great source of lycopene, they are a good provider of antioxidant protection and are increasingly being
associated with providing cardiovascular support and reducing the risk of heart disease.
Many, many more medicinal benefits are thought to be provided by this simple little fruit and more will no
doubt be discovered as scientists continue F