Tomato: History, Cuisine and Culture. A Five-Century Journey between America and Europe

Abstract

We analyze the main historical, gastronomic and cultural milestones that made the tomato a global food. Based on historical documents, recipe books, and old advertisements, as well as specialized bibliography, it reconstructs the journey of the tomato over five centuries, in a round trip between America and Europe. We analyze its arrival in Spain, Italy and France in the 16th century, and show how, overcoming the initial rejection, it became, in the 18th century, a fundamental ingredient in the kitchens of those countries. Also, we describe the development of the tomato canning industry in Italy, and the beginning of the commercialization of industrial ketchup in the United States in the 19th century; finally, we present scientific advances and cultural facts that consolidated its globalization in the 20th century. From its Andean and Mesoamerican origins until it became an element of identity of Mediterranean cuisines and a product of worldwide scope, the tomato have enormous cultural transcendence, associated with the production of scientific knowledge and technological, artistic and gastronomic innovation.