The path of the tomato to the stomachs of Europeans was long and thorny. The hearts of these plants conquered immediately, firmly registered in greenhouses and on window sills. In Russia, pots with tomatoes on the windows could be seen as early as the beginning of the 18th century: they delighted with yellow flowers and red fruits. But only suicides could eat tomatoes, because the whole Old World knew: there is no poison stronger than lycopersicum - a wolf peach!
JOY OF GARDENERS, MOUNTAIN OF BOTANIKS
The Europeans were absolutely convinced that the outlandish culture imported from South America was terribly poisonous. Whereas in their homeland, tomatoes were loved for their taste. The Indians called them "tumatl" - "large berry", hence, in fact, the name "tomato". But tomatoes are representatives of the Solanaceae genus, which consists of 1200 species. And a third of them are poisonous. The natives knew about the specific features of nightshade, but it was not difficult for them to distinguish one plant from another.
But the Europeans, amazed by the riot of the flora of the unexplored continent, did it much more difficult. They brought tomatoes to the Old World, but captivated exclusively by the beauty of the plants themselves. By the way, the tomatoes made the greatest impression on ordinary Frenchmen - for their bright color and shape resembling a heart, they called them "pom d'amour" - apples of love.
But it was not so easy to get the scientists through: botanists were hostile to the new plants that poured into Europe after Columbus discovered America. After all, they each time had to go out of their way, looking for a place for "newcomers" in the existing classifications of plants. And those were created by botanists who started from the postulate: as man was created in the image and help of the Lord, so the plants of the Earth copy the flora of the Garden of Eden.
And then suddenly tomatoes! Heresy. But no one wanted to fall into it, so the scientists contrived as best they could. They simply found on the list of "approved" plants the ones that tomatoes resembled the most. As a sin, the greatest similarity was found between the fruits of tomatoes and … mandrake with belladonna. The worst could have been imagined. After all, not only are both poisonous, but they also tarnished their reputation by communicating with witches: from these plants, sorceresses made an ointment with which they raised their brooms into the air, and also used these herbs as a potent hallucinogen. Of course, the kinship with such "persons" did not go to the benefit of the tomatoes: this is how South American immigrants found themselves in the position of outcasts. And they called them, at the suggestion of Joseph Pitton de Tournefort, the court botanist of Louis XIV, wolf peaches.
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IT IS DONE?
Tomatoes were ordered on the table. If only as a poison. For this purpose, they were used at least once in their life - with the help of tomatoes, they wanted to send not just anyone to the next world, but George Washington himself. True, for him the attempt passed unnoticed. He only praised his new chef, James Bailey, for the excellently prepared new meal. And for a long time he was perplexed when in the evening James took his own life. The reason that pushed the chef to a desperate step was revealed only after many years.
Lightning struck an oak tree, under which in the summer of 1777 - during the American War of Independence - Washington's camping tent stood. The tree fell apart, which revealed the contents of the hollow - a tin can, and in it - the letters of the same Bailey. It turned out he was a British spy, and his job as a cook was only a cover. The British introduced it into the kitchen with a very specific goal: to poison Washington, which James Bailey tried to do and about which he reported in detail in a letter to the commander of the British wakes: “General Washington has a habit of dining alone. For several days now he has been sick with a severe cold and complains of loss of taste. Taking advantage of this circumstance, I put in the roast intended for the general several red, fleshy fruits of one poisonous plant, akin to our belladonna. In a few hours the general will not be alive - he will die in agony. I have done my duty and now I can finish my last job. I don’t want to wait for inevitable revenge and intend to take my own life”…
Like this. Bailey committed suicide with a kitchen knife. He knew no doubts, because his reference book was The Complete Guide to Gardening, published just three years ago - in 1774! And there it was written in black and white: “Tomatoes, or tomatoes. Plants of the Solanaceae family. The fruits are mostly red, of all shades, but are yellow or purple, almost to black. The fruits are extremely poisonous. They cause hallucinations, then they drive you crazy, lethal outcome is inevitable."
Brave Small
The cook is dead. And Washington lived for another 22 years without eating tomatoes. Indeed, in North America, they were still considered poisonous. Aesculapians actively incited the population against tomatoes, claiming that they cause not only appendicitis, but also stomach tumors: they say, the skin of the fruit sticks to the gastric mucosa and this provokes the development of cancer. However, on September 26, 1820, the brave Colonel Robert Gibbon Johnson changed the idea of his fellow citizens about tomatoes once and for all.
The events took place in Salem, New Jersey. Colonel Johnson, who visited South America more than once, was a passionate fan of tomatoes. He was the first American to dare not only for breeding and selection, but also for the use of tomatoes. The colonel wanted to overcome the human prejudice against tomatoes and promoted this culture among the population with all his might: in particular, he offered a reward to the one who grows the largest fruit every year. Alas, it didn't help.
And then Johnson decided to take a desperate step. He knew that Saleme was going through a high-profile trial, to which people came in droves. On the morning of September 26, he settled down on the steps of the courthouse - and ate a whole basket of tomatoes in front of the amazed audience. Those gathered were convinced that the colonel was committing suicide. And the local fire brigade even started playing funeral music - in order to add tragedy to this madness.
But Colonel Robert Gibbon Johnson not only did not die, did not fall into a delusional state, did not move in his mind and did not experience pain, he did not even choke even once!
2000 people witnessed this desperate act. Of course, with their submission, rumors about the incident quickly spread, first throughout the state of New Jersey, and then throughout the country. And they started eating tomatoes!
TRIAL OVER THE TOMATO
Moreover, they began to eat in such quantities that soon the domestic market ceased to cope with the needs of the population. Rescued import. The next tomato incident is connected with him.
In April 1893, the Knicks brothers filed a lawsuit in the US Supreme Court against customs official Edward Hedden. He demanded a duty from them for the import of tomatoes, while according to the Customs Tariff of 1883, they were taxed only on vegetables, but not fruits. Take your time looking for inconsistencies. The fact is that by the 19th century, botanists had finally figured out the tomatoes and appointed them edible multi-nested … berries.
And the Nix brothers, armed with this knowledge, built their reasoning in something like this: tomatoes are berries, berries are the same fruits, and fruits are not subject to duty, therefore Hedden rips us off like sticky!
The case of whether a tomato is considered a fruit or a vegetable was considered by the US Supreme Court until May 10. And he ruled in favor of the respondent: “The above definitions from the dictionaries define a fruit as the fruit of the seed of a plant, or a part containing seeds, especially the juicy fleshy pulp of certain plants that covers the seeds. These definitions do not prove that tomatoes are fruits and not vegetables, both in everyday speech and in the context of the Customs Tariff.”
So America became the only country where tomatoes are recognized as vegetables by court. In Europe, they are still those fruits …
Natalia KASYAKINA