Tomato

What do pizza, ketchup and baked beans all have in common? They are all made with tomatoes. This incredibly flexible vegetable can be used raw in salads, is the basis of many sauces, is great in stews, and can even be juiced. No wonder it is the world’s number one, numero uno, vegetable – collectively, we humans eat 170 millions tonnes every year! Hang on, hang on – it’s not a vegetable, it’s a fruit! Well, botanically speaking it is, but in nutritional and culinary terms it’s a vegetable – it makes no sense, but we don’t care, because they are great. Today the biggest tomato fight in the world happens each year in the small Spanish town of Buñol. The festival, called La Tomatina, involves some 40,000 people throwing 150,000 tomatoes at each other! Search out the videos online – it’s insane. Tomatoes contain lycopene which gives them their red colouring, this compound has been linked to good eye and heart health. Whole tomatoes are best kept on the counter until ripe, then either eat straightaway or move to the fridge for up to 1-2 weeks. Once cut, wrap tightly or place in an airtight container and keep in the fridge for a couple of days.