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Tomatoes are fruits, not vegetables. Fruits are the edible part of the plant containing the seeds, whereas vegetables are the edible leaves, stems, and roots of the plant.
Tomatoes are a part of the nightshade family as potatoes, ground cherries and eggplants; however they are served and prepared as a vegetable. That is why people consider them as vegetable.
There are great varieties of tomatoes come in red, yellow, green and even purple, as well as striped grow for different purposes.
Tomatoes are easy to grow. A few plants supply enough crops for most families. The quality of fruit picked in the garden when fully ripe is better than anything available on the market, even in season. The tomato plant is a tender, warm-season perennial that is grown as an annual in summer gardens.
Tomatoes are one of the most common fruit in the garden in the United States and a reputation for out producing the needs of the grower. There are many heirloom are becoming more and more well-liked, especially among gardeners at home and local-market farmers, as they tend to produce delicious crops at the cost of disease resistance and productivity.
Tomatoes are well known throughout the world, and their consumption is believed to benefit health. Nutritionists have always known tomatoes were good for you. Tomatoes are full with vitamin C, potassium, fiber and vitamin A in the form of health promoting beta-carotene, which the body converts to vitamin A.
Tomatoes are also contained with lycopene, one of the most powerful natural antioxidants, which is the subject of current promising research that promotes health. Research suggests this powerful antioxidant may play a role in the fight against cancer, especially prostate cancer. Although it is available in all ripe tomatoes, a greater supply is more useful to body when it cooked.
Tomatoes are perfect for eating raw in a wide variety of ways. They are also delicious sauted, grilled, stewed, and added to many preparations. They are used widely in Mediterranean cuisine, especially in Italian and Middle Eastern cuisines. The tomato is acidic which makes tomatoes particularly easy to preserve in home canning whole, in pieces, puree, ketchup, or paste. Tomato juice is bottled or canned and sold as a healthy beverage. Unripe green tomatoes can be breaded and fried, used to make salsa, or pickled.
The fruit is also preserved by drying, often by sun, and sold either in jar in oil or in bags. Larger cherry tomatoes with a low percentage of water make delicious dried tomatoes. Plum tomatoes are well-suited for sauces, soups, stews, jams, and chutneys, and, because of their dense flesh, for drying.
When working with fresh tomatoes, the most important thing to know is the effect of temperature. Their flavor begins to deteriorate at temperature below about 5F. Therefore, never refrigerate your tomatoes, it render them flavorless and makes the flesh mealy too. Use fresh tomatoes within three to four days, and if you can't, make a simple paste or salsa that will hold in the refrigerator for a few extra days. To retain fresh flavor of tomatoes, cook them quickly. If you cooked longer than thirty minutes, their flavor begins to change.
