Olea Europaea

by | Mar 19, 2018 | Olea Europaea

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For the 2008 South Korean film, see Cherry Tomato (film).

Yellow cherry tomatoes
Freshly picked cherry tomatoes in Auroville, India

The cherry tomato is a type of small round tomato believed to be an intermediate genetic admixture between wild currant-type tomatoes and domesticated garden tomatoes.[2] Cherry tomatoes range in size from a thumbtip up to the size of a golf ball, and can range from spherical to slightly oblong in shape. Although usually red, other colours such as orange, yellow, green, purple, and black also exist.[3] Those shaped like an oblong share characteristics with plum tomatoes and are known as grape tomatoes. The cherry tomato is regarded as a botanical variety of the cultivated berry, Solanum lycopersicum var. cerasiforme.[4]

It originates in the Americas, and grew in commerical popularity during the late 20th century following the development of wild variants into commerically suitable variants by Israeli scientists in the 1970s.

History

"The cherry tomato... is believed to be the direct ancestor of modern cultivated tomatoes and is the only wild tomato found outside South America."[5] The tomato is thought to have been first domesticated in the Puebla-Veracruz area of Mexico and to have reached this area from South America in the form of a weedy cherry tomato.[5]

The first direct reference to the cherry tomato appears in 1623, in a work called Pinax theatri botanici (English: Illustrated exposition of plants) by Swiss botanist Caspar Bauhin, which contains descriptions and classifications of approximately six thousand species. In a section on "Solanum" (nightshades), Bauhin wrote of a variety called Solanum racemosum cerasoru[m] forma, which translates to "Solanum [that is] full of clusters [racemosum], in the form (shape) of cherries".[6]

Cherry tomatoes have been popular in the United States since at least 1919.[7] Recipes using cherry tomatoes can be found in articles dating back to 1967.[8]

In the 1970s Israeli scientists developed wild variants of the cherry tomato into global brands popular today among them the tomaccio.[9] Nathan Goldenberg, approached Professor Nahum Kedar and Professor Haim Rabinowitch from the Faculty of Agriculture at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem with the idea of developing an improved variety of cherry tomatoes.[10][11] Even before the appeal, the two were working on developing varieties suitable for cultivation in the hot Israeli climate, including a regular tomato variety with a long shelf life, encouraged by the Israeli government, which promoted the endevour.[10] According to Rabinowitch, the desire to develop a cherry tomato variety was mutual; Goldenberg provided funding and all the seeds available at the time for home cultivation.[10]The variety developed by Kedar and Rabinowitch was flavorful, had a long shelf life, and was convenient for commercial packaging (two rows arranged around the stem). Licenses to market the seeds were sold to several Israeli companies.[10] The variety gained popularity in the late 1980s, and sales peaked in 1992.[10] The development brought the Hebrew University more revenue than all their other commercial developments combined[11] In the following decades, many other varieties were developed, and the popularity of cherry tomatoes continued to rise.[11]

Cultivars

The Super Sweet 100 is a hybrid cultivar popular in the United States and resistant to both Fusarium and Verticillium wilt.

The Selke Biodynamic cherry tomato is named after Margrit Selke.[12]

The indeterminate hybrid sungold cherry tomato is known for its vigorous early-yielding plants and colorful orange fruits.

Nutrition

References

  1. ^ "Garden Tomato Synonyms (Solanum lycopersicum var. cerasiforme as Classified by NCBI Taxonomy) – Encyclopedia of Life". Eol.org. 29 July 2014. Archived from the original on 16 March 2018. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  2. ^ Nesbitt, TC; Tanksley, SD (2002). "Comparative sequencing in the genus Lycopersicon. Implications for the evolution of fruit size in the domestication of cultivated tomatoes". Genetics. 162 (1): 365–79. doi:10.1093/genetics/162.1.365. PMC 1462239. PMID 12242247.
  3. ^ "BBC – Food – Cherry tomatoes recipes". Archived from the original on 8 June 2022. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  4. ^ "Lycopersicon esculentum var. cerasiforme, nomen.at". Nomen.at. Archived from the original on 22 March 2011. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  5. ^ a b Kiple, Kenneth F., ed. (2000). The Cambridge World History of Food. Vol. 1. Cambridge University Press. p. 352. ISBN 9780521402149. Archived from the original on 18 June 2024. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  6. ^ Wexler, Anna (2016). "Seeding Controversy: Did Israel Invent the Cherry Tomato?" (PDF). Gastronomica. 16 (1): 1–11. doi:10.1525/gfc.2016.16.2.1. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 June 2023. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  7. ^ "The Saskatoon Phoenix – Google News Archive Search". Archived from the original on 7 December 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  8. ^ "The Milwaukee Journal – Google News Archive Search". News.google.com. Retrieved 24 October 2014.[permanent dead link]
  9. ^ Miller, Sara (12 February 2024). "Israeli Cherry Tomatoes That Dry Themselves In The Sun". NoCamels. Archived from the original on 17 March 2024. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  10. ^ a b c d e Wexler, Anna (2016). "Seeding Controversy: Did Israel Invent the Cherry Tomato?". Gastronomica. 16 (2): 1–11. doi:10.1525/gfc.2016.16.2.1. ISSN 1529-3262. Archived from the original on 18 June 2024. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  11. ^ a b c "Turner, Jonathan Chadwick, (10 Feb. 1951–14 Sept. 2016), QC 2003; a Recorder, 2000–06", Who Was Who, Oxford University Press, 1 December 2007, doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.4000278, archived from the original on 18 June 2024, retrieved 17 June 2024
  12. ^ Smith, Patricia; Rotheraine, L.A. "Biodynamics Brings the Gift of Learning to the Garden". rotheraine.com. Archived from the original on 17 January 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2014. An interview which originally appeared in "Applied Biodynamics", the newsletter of the Josephine Porter Institute, Issue No. 51, Winter 2005-2006.The earliest version archived 18 June 2006 from Rotheraine.com, without the 2012 photo: https//web.archive.org/ web/20060618200625/https://rotheraine.com/gift_of_learning.htm{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  13. ^ United States Food and Drug Administration (2024). "Daily Value on the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels". Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  14. ^ National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Health and Medicine Division; Food and Nutrition Board; Committee to Review the Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and Potassium (2019). Oria, Maria; Harrison, Meghan; Stallings, Virginia A. (eds.). Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and Potassium. The National Academies Collection: Reports funded by National Institutes of Health. Washington, DC: National Academies Press (US). ISBN 978-0-309-48834-1. PMID 30844154.

External links

Media related to Solanum lycopersicum var. cerasiforme at Wikimedia Commons

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