Tomatoes were originally known as "Love Apples". Probably because tomatoes from North Africa were known in Italy as pomo dei Mori, "apples of the Moors." That was transliterated to the French pomme d'amour . . . "love apple."
The tomato plant was not grown in England until the 1590s. It was believed to be poisonous (tomato leaves and stems contain poisonous glycoalkaloids, but the fruit is safe). However, by the mid-1700s, tomatoes were widely eaten in Britain and North America.
Cultivated tomatoes vary in size from cherry tomatoes, about the same 1–2 cm size as the wild tomato, up to beefsteak tomatoes 10 cm or more in diameter. It is a good idea to grow a selection of varities. My favourites are
- Gardener's Delight, a fairly large cherry tomato which is safe to grow outdoors in England;
- Dombito, a beefsteak variety, and
- Mirabelle, a bright yellow cherry tomato, very sweet - pick and eat them like candy.
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