Tomato

Hi, there. Yes, we’re a fruit all right but everyone thinks we’re a vegetable because we’re used in savoury dishes, but botanically we’re your typical fruit. Remember that the next time you want to trick someone in a trivia game.

We’re related to eggplants, capsicums, chillies and, that’s right, the potato, but we’re not at all like these other food. We have glossy, thin, smooth skin, with a juicy flesh containing numerous soft, edible seeds. Our color and shape vary considerably depending on our variety and where we come from. The most common red tomato is plump and round, about the size of a tennis ball, with a flattened top. Some varieties are heart-shaped, some are the size and shape of a ping pong ball, some are small and tear drop-shaped, whilst others are egg-shaped. Our colours range from red to yellow-skinned with pink to yellow flesh.

Did you know?
• We gain weight as we ripen - even after being picked
• We have become an essential ingredient in an array of cuisines, adding color, juice and flavour to many dishes.