Tomatoes in Italy- Making the Mediterranean

I’ve found the history of the tomato to be quite fascinating, and to demonstrate the overlap of a lot of major events and ideas that we’ve looked into so far in class. 

First of all, the tomato was brought to Europe as a part of the Columbian Exchange.  It was one of many items, ideas, people, and diseases whose movement between the “new” and “old” worlds changed diets and lives around the globe after Columbus’s voyage to the Americas in 1492 (Nunn & Qian, 163).  This is evidenced by the sheer ubiquity of tomatoes in all parts of the world, and of course, their particularly major role in Italy.  Since I’ve been in Florence, I’ve seen tons of tomatoes and tomato products.  The tomatoes I’ve seen range from large, yellowish “heirloom” varieties, to long oval-shaped tomatoes, to bright red ones still on their vines, to small, round “cherry” tomatoes, and I’m sure many other shapes and colors that I’m forgetting.  We can also see them cooked as parts of larger dishes.  Their inclusion in sauce for pastas is the form I’ve seen them take the most in my week in here.  This is interesting to me, because according to our Gentilcore reading, tomatoes were also originally used as a flavorful condiment when Italians first started eating them around the 18^th century (62). 

So, as this time difference between the Columbian Exchange and consumption of the fruit in the 18^th century shows, tomatoes existed in the “old” world for about three centuries before they were accepted as a food item there.  In its early years in Europe, the tomato was a distrusted outsider that was considered to be poisonous, or at least bad for digestion.  However, eventually, medical and scientific notions about digestion changed (47), and fears of the tomato’s negative health effects gradually dissipated.  By the time it witnessed larger inclusion in the Italian diet it the 19^th century, it had a name (pomodoro, or “golden apple”) that alluded to ancient mythology.  Now, it was seen as aiding in digestion, and was blended with local ingredients and culinary techniques.  Thus, as we discussed in class the other day, the tomato had to be seen in reference to familiar things, and at a time when larger systems of thought changed in a way that accommodated it, in order to be accepted into society.  It seems to me like this reaction is very relevant to a lot of other spheres of society, aside from just that of the tomato.  When something new and unknown comes into a group’s culture, it is often regarded with fear and distrust, while new things that fit in with what we already know or believe are generally easier to feel comfortable with.

Like the 15^th century Italians, it took me a long time to accept the tomato into my life, but in recent years, and particularly the last few months, I’ve come to enjoy them more.  My favorites now are the small or medium-sized, bright red ones that you buy still attached to the vine.  The color is lovely and vibrant, and I like the ones with a rather firm texture.  I’ve never thought of tomatoes as really overly flavorful, but I like their mild, slightly sweet flavor and smell, and the cool, refreshing touch they add to a dish.