“Mary, Mary, how does your garden grow?”
This is surely a tough question to answer, especially this summer with its extreme temperatures and rainfall. Perhaps an even tougher question to answer for Sun City’s own “truck farmers” would be, What crop that are you growing will give you and your acquaintances the most nutritional value: cucumbers, peppers, beans, tomatoes? If you guessed tomatoes, you are right on.
Though June is National Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Month, August is definitely the best month to celebrate nature’s bounty of tomatoes!
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Reference Values for Nutrition, tomatoes are a near perfect fruit/vegetable, which have the following percent of Daily Vitamin Value in just 1 cup of cherry tomatoes (149 grams): Vitamin C-32%, Vitamin A-25%, Vitamin K-15%, and also a strong percent for Vitamin E. The Daily Value further tells us that tomatoes make up 0% fat, 2% carbohydrates, and 7% dietary fiber of our daily needs. The only fault one can find in this Daily Value chart, perhaps, is the 3.9 g. of sugar found in the plant. This still only allows for a yield of 27 calories, or 1% of a Daily Calorie Intake, due to the 141g of water per serving.
The same cup of cherry tomatoes on the Caloric Ratio Pyramid consists itself of 75% carbs, 3% fats, and 12% protein. In constructing a nutritionally balanced and complete meal, it receives a 80% score. However, the tomato will need to add other sources of complimentary protein foods to achieve a higher amino acid score from the U.S.F.D.A.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommends 3-5 servings of vegetables and 2-4 servings of fruit daily. The problem here is discovering whether our vine-ripened wonder is a fruit or a vegetable.
A tomato is comprised of an outer skin, an inner fleshy meat, and hollow spaces containing seeds. Therefore, because it contains seeds, it biologically fulfills the definition of a fruit. Other fruits that are commonly known as vegetables are pumpkins, corn, peppers, and cucumbers. Scientifically, then, our plant is a fruit. However, in the culinary and popular sense, a tomato is a vegetable. First, a vegetable is commonly defined as an edible plant or part of a plant. There is no scientific classification of a vegetable. In the culinary world, fruits tend to be sweet and used in desserts and vegetables are more savory and used in main dishes.
Conclusion: the botanical world accepts it as a fruit, while the world of the kitchen accepts it as a vegetable. In 1877, the matter was even taken to the Supreme Court, where it was ruled to be popularly known as a vegetable.
The Lycopersicon, Garden or Gold or Love Apple, or Pomo D’oro are all names that have been given in different countries to our wholesome powerhouse since the sixteenth century. Our fruit/vegetable came from South America to North America, made possible by the Spaniards during their colonization of the two continents. We know that Thomas Jefferson grew it as an ornamental plant in Virginia in 1781 but that it wasn’t eaten until 1834. Years later, it finally became popular as a food.
This marvelous food can be red, yellow, orange, green, purple, or brown in color. It commonly is grown as round (apple size), plum, cherry, or grape in shape and size. It is considered “ubiquitous” because it not only guards against several types of cancer, but also may reduce your risk of heart disease, osteoporosis, and even diabetes. Lycopene is the primary nutrient behind the tomato’s healing power. It is a strong antioxidant that works by neutralizing free radicals (errant oxygen molecules that cause cellular damage in our bodies). Research has already shown that eating foods that are high in lycopene protects us against a wide range of cancers such as lung, breast, and stomach cancers.
Margaret Burnham, Wellness Dietitian at Centegra Health Bridge Fitness Center in Huntley, tells us that “Lycopene has been extensively studied and shown to decrease the risk of several cancers, most notably prostate cancer. Condensed tomato products, such as tomato sauce and tomato paste, contain more lycopene than fresh tomatoes.”
Tomatoes also can help prevent heart attacks, primarily by lowering blood pressure and cholesterol. In one study, drinking 13 ounces of tomato juice daily for three weeks lowered LDL cholesterol levels by almost 13%. Preliminary research has also shown a link between increased bone mass and dietary lycopene.
Besides lycopene, another star nutrient of the tomato appears to be 9-oxo-octadecadienoic acid. At Kyoto University in Japan, researchers recently found that this acid appears to lower cholesterol and fat in the bloodstream. Left unchecked, these lipids can lead to diseases such as arteriosclerosis and even type 2 diabetes.
Burnham continues to extol the praise of tomatoes: “Related to seniors, the antioxidant vitamins A, C, and E are particularly good for healthy aging (good for the eyes, skin, and immune system).” She adds, “Also noteworthy to seniors is the fiber content of tomatoes. Fiber helps to keep waste products moving in and out of the digestive system for regularity. An unpeeled medium tomato has about 2 grams of fiber. Men aged 50 and over should strive for 30 grams of fiber daily, while women aged 50 and over should strive for 21 (grams) of fiber daily.”
The dietitian warns, “While tomatoes are a great food, the most benefit will come from a diet that not only includes tomatoes, but is also well balanced with a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and low-fat dairy.”
Burnham concludes by stating, “Tomatoes should be stored at room temperature away from direct sunlight and should be used within 1 week of ripening. They tend to lose flavor in the refrigerator.”
One added note that Meg expresses is that a medium tomato is only 25 calories (one cup of cooked red tomatoes is 43 calories). Let’s not forget the implication of helping to keep our daily calorie count low through the use of these tasty, healthy plants.
Whether they are “Rutgers,” “Big Boy,” “Beef Steak,” “4th of July,” or “Mortgage Lifters,” we do have many varieties of home-grown tomatoes right here in Sun City. In fact, Sun City Community Garden Rep. Rich Olsen, N.32B, tells us that there are 111 plots with 93 gardeners busy at work in our own gardens on Briar Hill Road.
Olsen tells us that “Tomatoes are the most popular vegetable grown in the gardens.”
He states that while just about all plots have tomatoes grown on them, some residents choose to grow the plant exclusively.
“People like fresh-grown tomatoes that are so good compared with other vegetables you can get year round,” he adds.
Olsen concludes by informing the community that there are three plots reserved for growing vegetables for Huntley’s Food Pantry, where he recently delivered 20 tomatoes in one day.
If you aren’t fortunate enough to be growing your own “miracle plant,” how about traveling south down Rt. 47 to Goebbert’s Farm and Garden Center, where Matt Calbella and Kendall Kurilla, stand operators, declare simultaneously, “Corn is first but tomatoes are second in popularity.”
You can even see the workers in the fields as you travel north on Highway 47 going back home. At Tom’s Market (on Algonquin Road just east of Haligus Road), employee Mary Ryan states the same opinion: “From 4 to 6:30 closing, corn, tomatoes, and pie are the hot items of the evenings.”
It appears then that Sun City is quite aware of the delicious taste of the tomato. Now, hopefully, our residents are even more aware of the plant’s health value. Just keep those wonderful recipes flowing in your homes. Remember the “incredible tomato” that Mary, the gardener, of nursery rhyme fame would surely have approved of!
Our powerhouse vegetable can be found in a variety of dishes used for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
It can even become a dietary fruit when served (as my grandmother often did) with sugar added for more flavoring!
