Cherry
Small, sweet and explosive.
Tomato
"The fruit that changed the world's cooking."
JuicyVersatileGlobal Cuisine
Usage Tips
If you want it for salads, choose tomatoes that are firm, aromatic and truly ripe; excessive refrigeration can mute part of their flavour.
For sauces, aromatic bases or roasting, tomatoes with more flesh and less water work especially well because they concentrate flavour better.
A good tomato needs very little: salt, acidity and fat measured well are often enough to take it much further.
"Some ingredients accompany; tomato organizes half the plate."
Curiosities
Although treated as a vegetable in the kitchen, the tomato is botanically a fruit.
Its intense red colour is largely due to lycopene, a very characteristic antioxidant pigment.
Not all tomatoes taste the same: variety, ripeness, soil, water and harvest timing greatly change the final profile.
Value per 100g
Value per 100g
Light and full of water
18kcal
4g
1g
0g
Carbohydrates4g
Proteins1g
Fats0g
Fiber1g
Glycemic Index
15
Freshness with impact
It is a very light ingredient with high water content, yet it still provides fiber, antioxidant compounds and an enormous ability to bring flavour, colour and juiciness to a huge range of dishes.
Acidity, flesh and sweetness
Types of Tomato
Small in size and often high in flavour intensity, it usually offers a sweeter note and a very pleasant juicy texture. It works beautifully in salads, quick sautés, oven trays and as a fresh bite with oil, cheese or herbs.
Plum
Flesh, balance and cooking power.
It has an elongated shape, a good proportion of flesh and less water than many rounder varieties. That makes it especially useful for sauces, sofritos, homemade preserves and preparations where concentration and texture matter.
Raf
Irregular, intense and highly prized.
Highly appreciated in Spain for its deep flavour and its balance between sweetness and acidity. Its ribbed shape, firm texture and strong character make it an ideal tomato to eat almost naked, with a good olive oil and very little else.
Sun, ripening and harvest
From the Vine to the Crate
Tomato is a crop that depends heavily on light, temperature and careful management. As it develops, the plant forms stems, flowers and clusters that gradually turn into green, firm and still unripe fruits.
Ripening completely changes its identity: sugars develop, part of the aggressive acidity softens, and the skin takes on its final tones, from deep reds to striped greens or yellows depending on the variety. Harvest timing has a major effect on flavour, texture and shelf life.
From traditional soil-grown crops to intensive systems or greenhouse production, tomato reflects better than almost any ingredient the tension between productivity, shelf stability and the search for real flavour.
Flowering and Fruit Set
Progressive Ripening
Delicate Harvest
Discover its history
From the New World to the Universal Plate
A journey through time discovering the roots and evolution of this ingredient.
1
Born in the Americas
The tomato originated in the Americas, with wild ancestors in the Andean region and a domestication process that took shape in Mesoamerica. Long before conquering the kitchens of the world, it was already a known and valued fruit in pre-Hispanic food cultures that understood its culinary potential far earlier than Europe did.
2
Europe's Suspicion
When it reached Europe in the 16th century, the tomato was received with caution. For a long time it was viewed more as a botanical curiosity than as an everyday ingredient, partly because of its relation to other nightshades and the prejudice that kept it away from the table for a while.
3
Italy Gave It a Home
It was in southern Europe, especially in Italy and later in Spain, where the tomato found its great culinary destiny. Sauces, stews, preserves and aromatic bases turned it into a central pillar of popular cooking and later of international gastronomy.
4
The King of Everyday Cooking
Today the tomato is one of the most universal ingredients on the planet. It can be fresh, acidic, sweet, fleshy, concentrated, roasted or transformed into sauce. It appears in salads, curries, stocks, pizzas, shakshuka, ramen, tacos and thousands of recipes where it brings colour, juiciness and balance.
The tomato originated in the Americas, with wild ancestors in the Andean region and a domestication process that took shape in Mesoamerica. Long before conquering the kitchens of the world, it was already a known and valued fruit in pre-Hispanic food cultures that understood its culinary potential far earlier than Europe did.
When it reached Europe in the 16th century, the tomato was received with caution. For a long time it was viewed more as a botanical curiosity than as an everyday ingredient, partly because of its relation to other nightshades and the prejudice that kept it away from the table for a while.
It was in southern Europe, especially in Italy and later in Spain, where the tomato found its great culinary destiny. Sauces, stews, preserves and aromatic bases turned it into a central pillar of popular cooking and later of international gastronomy.
Today the tomato is one of the most universal ingredients on the planet. It can be fresh, acidic, sweet, fleshy, concentrated, roasted or transformed into sauce. It appears in salads, curries, stocks, pizzas, shakshuka, ramen, tacos and thousands of recipes where it brings colour, juiciness and balance.
