The tomato : A vegetable - a fruit - cloaked in scarlet, with mouth-watering pulp and flesh, round and smooth. The tomato, or “love apple” today is considered to be the Provençal vegetable par excellence, though it did not originate on Provençal soil. Small, large, round, pear-shaped, in bunches, cooked, raw, dried or confite, the tomato can be eaten in many different ways, and is conducive to thousands of savory variations. The tomato is both delightful to enjoy alone, with a drizzle of olive oil and a few grains of salt, and easy to combine with all sort of companions: sundrenched vegetables to make a ratatouille, spiked with garlic and parsley to make tomates à la provençale, in savory and sweet tarts, in marmalade, sherbet, and of course sauce. Tomatoes glow with health at the summer markets, attracting the light, and our eye. The tomato symbolizes summer time. Sink your teeth in! !

When Europeans set sail and discovered America, tomatoes had long been consumed there. In the Middle Ages in Europe, the tomato, red like the devil, was classified in the Mandragora family, and like other members of the family, was considered to have evil powers. Tomatoes were grown as ornamental plants in the garden. In the 16th century, the use of tomatoes as edible vegetables arrived in Spain and Italy, then later in Provence, where it was referred to as the “love apple”, the “Peru apple”, or the “golden apple”.
Tomatoes were still suspect however, and most often grew as ornamentation. Gradually science made inroads on superstition, and tomatoes were increasingly consumed. Tomatoes attained great popularity in the 19th century and were incorporated in cooking worldwide. The tomato crop grew considerably.

The FRUIT