Fact #1

If you’re a fan of old movies, be sure to watch Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers banter about whether to pronounce the name of this crop as tom-A-to or tom-AH-to. Whether you’ve seen this movie clip before or not, it’s worth watching:

Fact #2

The scientific name for tomatoes has changed over the centuries, with the original one meaning “wolf peach,” and one of the revisions meaning “edible wolf peach.” A common tomato nickname is the “love apple,” and multiple places online state that the Aztec name translates into “plump thing with a naval” (which makes good sense to us!).
 

Fact #3

Tomato champagne is lovely!

Fact #4

Cooked tomatoes may help aid in protecting your skin from the sun. A study conducted by scientists at the University of Manchester and the University of Newcastle, both in England, discovered this. Cooked tomatoes are thought to be more effective than raw because the cooking process releases the lycopene.

Although eating cooked tomatoes isn’t a replacement for sunscreen, people who ate them were shown to have 33 percent more sunburn protection, plus higher levels of a protein that helps to preserve the structure of the skin.

Plus, take a look at this interesting research. People who eat ten daily portions of fruits and vegetables can benefit health-wise in numerous ways, including the following:

• 24 percent reduction in risk of heart disease
• 33 percent reduction in risk of stroke
• 28 percent reduction in risk of cardiovascular disease
• 13 percent reduction in risk of total cancer
• 31 percent reduction in dying prematurely

One leader in the study said the following: "it is clear from this work that a high intake of fruit and vegetables hold tremendous health benefits, and we should try to increase their intake in our diet."

Fact #6

“’Tomatoes are low in calories, (about 25 calories per one medium-size tomato) yet filled with nutrition,’ said Heather Mangieri, a Pittsburgh-based registered dietitian and nutritionist, health author and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. They are good sources of several vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients, especially the carotenoid lycopene, which gives tomatoes their vibrant red color.” (Live Science)
 

Fact #7

There are approximately 10,000 varieties of tomatoes grown around the world, according to an estimate on a National Geographic site.
 

Fact #8

"[The Chef's Garden is] very adept at exploring, trying new things, selecting those that will be exciting for their customers, with a clear idea of what's needed in their marketplace." (Fred Hempel, developmental biologist by trade with a Ph.D. in plant sciences.)

We partner with the renowned tomato breeder, Fred Hempel of Artisan Seeds, to bring chefs the best in fresh tomato choices. Fred specializes in striped tomatoes and we asked him what would be the ideal tomato, the holy grail of this crop. He listed three characteristics:

• Appealing to plenty of people
• Being significantly different from what people typically see
• Not being perceived as too weird

Initially, The Chef's Garden simply trialed Fred's new releases. Now, we benefit from seeing his products even before they're released. And, as Fred points out, there is a "mutual benefit" to this arrangement. We at the farm can offer Fred feedback about what performs well and tastes great, so he can continue to plan ahead, while we get a sneak peek about what might interest our chefs the most along with the opportunity to create brand new products for those chefs. 

Fact #9

The state beverage of Ohio is . . . tomato juice. This beverage was selected in 1965 and its official adoption took place during the celebration of the annual Tomato Festival. This commemorates Ohioan Alexander Livingston who began growing tomatoes commercially in 1870, as well as honoring the importance of tomatoes in the state of Ohio.
 

Fact #10

We've selected our fresh tomato offerings for flavor rather than appearance and shelf-life, so consider experimenting with a mixed case to find your favorites. What do you need? We are your personal farmer!

For even more fresh tomato facts, we invite you to read about how we lay out our summer plantings. At the start of the season, an entire field’s worth of tomatoes can fit on just one table top, with red, orange and yellow plastic markers providing clues about what will grow from a particular seed. Possibilities this year range from Cherokee Purple to Orange Paruche, Momotaro, Rainbow Jazz Heart and more.

In a single summer, we’ll complete six plantings of farm-fresh tomatoes, starting in early February. The smallest sprouts indicate that spring is here, and they have leaves that are smaller than a newborn’s fingernail, with stems a fine as the finest spun silk.

Plus, here’s an in-depth look at how to create the most scrumptious tomato, bacon and lettuce sandwich ever. (Hey . . . if you’re a fan of the tomato, there is no shame in listing it first.) As one more tomato fact, it’s ethylene gas that makes a tomato turn red, a substance naturally contained within the tomato. And, although many companies simply take rock-hard, unripe tomatoes and lock them into an ethylene-filled chamber to force the red color upon tomatoes that are still meant to be green, we wouldn’t dream of it. We allow our tomatoes to naturally develop flavor, just the way that Mother Nature intended.

To talk about what tomatoes would work best in your upcoming dishes and menus, please contact us online. Your product specialist can help!