Hello! My name is Ariel Broadus. I'm a fourth year Psychology major. I grew up in a cul-de-sac where everyone used to bring out food out on Fridays and shared it. It felt like a cultural overload (in a good way). Ever since then, I was determined to try new foods whenever I could. 

                            Tomatoes. Good? Bad? Nutritious and Healthy!

Background Viewpoint

I grew up not liking tomatoes. Strongly tomatoes surrounded me and everywhere I went without me having a choice. I lived in a cul-de-sac and different Fridays when everyone had time, we would all had a potluck dinner and enjoy each others company. One time my godmother, Jessica, would brought out a Hispanic dish called enchiladas and from there I fell in love. There were two types, a green sauce one and a red sauce one. One day I asked her tell me the recipe for the sauces so that I would be able to make them myself and she said the main ingredients were tomatoes. I was shocked because at a young age I didn't believe tomatoes could make something taste so good, but I was determined to make both sauces. The green one was made with tomatillos and the red was made with red tomatoes and tomato paste. It opened my eyes to thinking maybe tomatoes can be good. Later on in middle school, one of my teachers had a garden at school. My class would visit every other week to make sure everything is good within the garden and our teacher let us pick which fruits, vegetables, and flowers we could grow and one of my classmates picked tomatoes. I was shocked because I didn't register that tomatoes was an actual fruit that was well known outside of my neighborhood. I was able to see how tomatoes grew and what kind of tomatoes needed more specific help growing like extra water or sunlight. I then came to the conclusion that even though tomatoes are a worldwide fruit, that it would always be apart of my culture. 

Cultural Significance 

Tomatoes have been a cultural breakthrough in many countries by inspiring festivals, influencing economics, and advancing many traditional cuisines.  A few countries that have been heavily influenced by tomatoes are Mexico, United States, Italy, and Spain and it all in their food. 

Tomatoes originated from Mexico and had a start on being very significant. The indigenous people started to used tomatoes first as a main source for the salsa and chili spices. Because tomato has a sweet, spicy and able to balance out other fruit and vegetable tastes, it was easier for them to be able to create multiple types of sauces that were good and full of taste. As time went by, more foods that had tomatoes as a main ingredient came to be. There are also many types of tomatoes for different usages. Tomatillo are small green tomatoes that sweet taste to it. When mixed with other ingredients, it makes many different types of salsas, sauces or soups which are usually found on enchiladas or tostadas. The tomate roma type of tomatoes are usually best used when boiled up or roasted. When done so and mixed with other ingredients, it makes a nice salsa for rojas, chilaquiles, and sopa de fideo (Stone).

When it comes to heavily influenced on countries, tomatoes made a huge impact to Italy and many of its cuisines. Tomatoes are a staple ingredient in so many Italy meals  that it shapes some of their food and is known for others. Because of tomatoes taste when mixed with other seasonings, it happens to make one of the most iconic and best pasta sauce which includes marinara. Marinara did such an amazing hit in pasta sauces in Italy that it traveled around the world and now other countries use it and eat it in their pastas. Another sauce that originated in Italy made from tomatoes is pizza sauce. This sauce was also another tomato hit that traveled to different countries because of how good it was on pizza. In San Marizano, which is a city in Italy, has its own tomato farm because of how much tomatoes are known for in Italy (Elwan).  

After seeing what tomatoes can do in other countries, the United States decided to also use tomatoes to make delicious food and make something different with their own dishes. In many cities all over the United States there are mini places called "Little Italy" where they serve their own variants of food that come from Italy which are mostly pastas, pizzas, salads and more foods but many of those foods contain tomatoes as their main ingredient. There are also many restaurants and pizza places that didn't originate in Italy but still contain the tomato based sauces in their ingredients.  Tomatoes were also thrown in omelets that gave it a sweet and healthy taste when mixed with other vegetables. As tomatoes were getting more popular around the world and were getting more notices for their health benefits and preventions, they started making them canned so people would be able to by them and eat them when in more direr needs or emergencies. Another significant invention that was made with multiple ingredients and tomato being one of the more important one is ketchup. Tomato based ketchup not only made a big hit but is one of the most used condiment now and happens to be worldwide aswell. 

In Spain,  there are specific soups and breads that are either made with tomatoes are ate best with tomatoes. One of the most famous Spanish dishes are called gazpacho which is made of mostly tomatoes and other ingredients. This cold tomato soup is for the summer time for people to cool down in and it's made usually in Andalucía. In Catalonia, there is a tomato bread that is also well known in Spain. Spain also  hosts the La Tomatina festival in Bunol where thousands of people throw tomatoes at each other in a giant food fight (Leah).

Conclusion 

Tomatoes are more than just a common kitchen ingredient, they are a special vegetable looking fruit that's nutritional healthy, culturally shaping, and a historical break through for many cuisines. Originating in South America and being discovered by the indigenous people including the Aztecs, they were slowing introduced to different regions and many countries. Over time, they became an icon, influencing dishes from Italian pasta sauces to Mexican salsas, to starting food fights/wars in Spain and creating the most world wide condiment in the United States. Being a health power house because of it's helpful contribution and prevention of diseases. Tomatoes are one of the most influential foods in the world.