The secret is in the sauce: What 16th century tomatoes can teach us about our food today
Not long after Spanish contact with the Americas, tomatoes began arriving in Europe. What did they look like and where did they come from?
Today, I found myself falling deep into a rabbit hole of research about some of our oldest herbarium specimens on record. I'm working on a perspective article in support of the Duke Herbarium, aiming to showcase just how critically important herbaria are to modern research and education across the domains of agriculture, conservation biology, medical discovery, and more.
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At some point, I found myself pondering the history of agriculture. What role have herbaria played in record-keeping for major crops, like the tomato? Although we now consider marinara sauce a staple of Italian cuisine, its introduction is relatively recent; tomatoes didn't arrive in Europe until the 1500s. Thanks to the dedication of scholars from approximately 500 years ago who grew these early tomatoes in an Italian garden and then pressed and dried clippings in herbaria, we can see today exactly which types of tomatoes were the first to arrive in Europe and can even assess their genetic lineage through DNA analysis.
In today's post, I offer a synthesis and some highlights from a research paper by scientists based in the Netherlands. The full paper is available through open access in case you'd like to learn more:
van Andel T, Vos RA, Michels E, Stefanaki A. Sixteenth-century tomatoes in Europe: who saw them, what they looked like, and where they came from. PeerJ. 2022 Jan 17;10:e12790. doi: 10.7717/peerj.12790. PMID: 35111406; PMCID: PMC8772448.
European Exploration and the Tomato
After Christopher Columbus' first voyage, New World crops like maize, chili peppers, and tomatoes were introduced to Europe, catching the interest of early 16th-century scholars and nobility. The tomato, initially cultivated by the Aztecs, entered Europe via Spanish colonizers and quickly reached Italy through Italian merchants, where it was studied by Renaissance naturalists in the 1540s.
Despite the lack of documentation on the tomato's introduction at Spanish ports or its cultivation in royal Iberian gardens, its journey from the Americas to European aristocrats' gardens is noted in the historic record, particularly with regards to its initial reception and subsequent rise in popularity.
The origin of the first European tomatoes is debated, with some 16th-century botanists suggesting they were known as 'love apples' or 'Peruvian apples,' hinting at a possible introduction from Peru following Francisco Pizarro’s conquest of Inca emperors in 1531.
Geographic Origins of the Domesticated Tomato
The story of where tomatoes come from originally takes us to South America, specifically along the coast from Ecuador to northern Chile. Here, scientists have found wild tomato plants that are like the ancestors of the tomatoes we eat today. They've discovered that the area is rich in different kinds of traditional tomatoes, showing us that this region played a big part in the tomato's early history.
The journey of the tomato began with a small, wild variety known as Solanum lycopersicum var. cerasiforme, which naturally spread from the dry areas of Peru up to Central America. This wild tomato adapted to the rainier climates on its own, without humans planting it. Later on, people in South America started growing it on purpose, and it traveled back to Central America where it was turned into the larger tomatoes we're familiar with now.
The path from wild to domesticated tomato isn't straightforward and involves both South America and Central America. Although scientists are still piecing together the full story, they've noticed that the types of tomatoes change a bit from Ecuador up to Mexico. This ongoing puzzle about when and where tomatoes were first grown shows us just how complex and interesting the history of our food can be.
Did you know that the Emory Herbarium is celebrating it’s 75th anniversary this year? You can help us continue in our mission to support botanical research and education by making a charitable donation to our university account.
The First Images of a Tomato
Have you ever wondered what these early tomatoes looked like in full color? While tomatoes would have been very common in Mexico at the time of European contact, there are no known images from the Americas. The article by van Andel et al. offers a delightful panel of illustrations and woodcut art from Europe in the 1500s.
Major Findings
The earliest European tomatoes, documented by Matthioli in 1544 and collected in the Pisa botanical garden by Aldrovandi and Petrollini around 1551, displayed a stunning diversity in appearance. Early illustrations and manuscripts suggest origins in Mexico and Peru, with the 'En Tibi' specimen, collected around 1558, being particularly notable for its maturity and domestication status, as confirmed by molecular studies linking it to Mexican and Peruvian landraces. Ongoing research, including DNA analysis of 16th-century specimens and the digitization of historical texts, aims to further uncover the genetic heritage, origins, and historical significance of these tomatoes, highlighting the need to preserve traditional varieties in the Americas.
The Takeaway
It is incredible how much we can learn through the analysis of not only historic written texts but also these precious preserved plant specimens. Herbaria hold fascinating clues from history and continue to inform the future of how people engage with plants for food, medicine, art, and so much more. The next time that you eat a tomato-based dish, I hope you’ll spare a thought for the incredible history behind each bite.
Yours in health, Dr. Quave
Cassandra L. Quave, Ph.D. is a scientist, author, speaker, podcast host, wife, mother, explorer, and professor at Emory University School of Medicine. She teaches college courses and leads a group of research scientists studying medicinal plants to find new life-saving drugs from nature. She hosts the Foodie Pharmacology podcast and writes the Nature’s Pharmacy newsletter to share the science behind natural medicines. To support her effort, consider a paid or founding subscription, with founding members receiving an autographed 1st edition hardcover copy of her book, The Plant Hunter.
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Thank you for this fascinating, untold story about one of our most beloved culinary ingredients ~ the Love Apple ~ aka, Tomato!