The tomato’s story
From the Andes to Europe, Monticello, the world’s kitchens and the US Supreme Court.
Jump to: The Andes | Europe | North America | Around the world | Fruit or vegetable?
From the Andes
The wild tomato came from the Andes of South America, probably mainly Peru and Ecuador. Encyclopaedia Britannica: tomato Kew: though it is thought of as an Italian essential, the tomato actually came from the Andes. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: Tasty tomatoes (25 October 2019)
Before cultivation, wild tomatoes were small, fragrant fruits about the size of a cherry tomato. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: Tasty tomatoes (25 October 2019) The tomato is thought to have been domesticated in Mexico, before Columbus. Encyclopaedia Britannica: tomato
The word tomato comes from tomatl, a word in Nahuatl, the Aztec language. Encyclopaedia Britannica: tomato
Into Europe
The Spanish brought the tomato to Europe in the early 16th century. The Spanish and Italians seem to have been the first Europeans to eat it. Encyclopaedia Britannica: tomato
Italians called it pomodoro (“golden apple”), which has led to guesses that the first tomatoes Europeans saw were yellow. Encyclopaedia Britannica: tomato It has been suggested that the French called it pomme d’amour (“love apple”). Some scholars think both names may come from pomme des Mours (“apple of the Moors”), a name for the aubergine. Encyclopaedia Britannica: tomato
In France and northern Europe the tomato was first grown as an ornamental and treated with suspicion as food, because botanists saw it was related to deadly nightshade. Encyclopaedia Britannica: tomato
Back across the Atlantic
Tomatoes reached North America from Europe. Encyclopaedia Britannica: tomato Thomas Jefferson is known to have grown tomatoes at Monticello in 1781. Encyclopaedia Britannica: tomato
Tomatoes were eaten in Louisiana as early as 1812, but not in the north-eastern states until about 1835. Encyclopaedia Britannica: tomato The tomato didn’t become widely popular in the United States until the early 20th century. Encyclopaedia Britannica: tomato
Around the world
Kew says commercial tomato growing began in the mid-19th century, and tomatoes are now one of the most widely grown fruits in the world. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: Tasty tomatoes (25 October 2019) Tomatoes are now grown commercially all over the world. Encyclopaedia Britannica: tomato
A large share of the world’s tomato crop is processed into canned tomatoes, juice, ketchup, purée and paste. Encyclopaedia Britannica: tomato
Tomatoes need warm weather and plenty of sun, so in cooler climates they are mostly grown in hothouses. Encyclopaedia Britannica: tomato
Fruit or vegetable?
Ask a botanist and a cook and you’ll get two different answers. Both are right.
To a botanist: a fruit (a berry)
Botanically, tomato fruits are berries, from 1.5 to 7.5cm across or more. Each has at least two chambers of small seeds in jelly-like pulp. Encyclopaedia Britannica: tomato
Kew calls the tomato “a salad hero that’s one of the world’s favourite fruits”. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: Tasty tomatoes (25 October 2019)
To the US Supreme Court in 1893: a vegetable
In Nix v. Hedden, decided on 10 May 1893, the US Supreme Court held that tomatoes are “vegetables” and not “fruit” under the Tariff Act of 3 March 1883. U.S. Reports, Nix v. Hedden, 149 U.S. 304 (1893), Library of Congress (PDF of the printed opinion)
It was about tax. The importers had brought tomatoes from the West Indies in spring 1886 and paid duty under protest: vegetables carried a 10 percent duty, while fruit was on the free list. Justia: Nix v. Hedden, 149 U.S. 304 (1893) The case was brought on 4 February 1887 against Hedden, the collector of the port of New York, to get the duty back. Cornell Law School LII: Nix et al. v. Hedden, Collector
Both sides read out dictionary definitions from Webster’s, Worcester’s and the Imperial Dictionary. The court said dictionaries are aids to its memory and understanding, not evidence. Justia: Nix v. Hedden, 149 U.S. 304 (1893) Two witnesses, each with 30 years in the fruit and vegetable trade, said the words had no special meaning in trade, different from the dictionaries. Justia: Nix v. Hedden, 149 U.S. 304 (1893)
Justice Gray, giving the court’s opinion, wrote: “Botanically speaking, tomatoes are the fruit of a vine, just as are cucumbers, squashes, beans and peas.” U.S. Reports, Nix v. Hedden, 149 U.S. 304 (1893), Library of Congress (PDF of the printed opinion)
But in everyday language, the court said, they are vegetables: usually served at dinner with the main part of the meal, and not, like fruits generally, as dessert. U.S. Reports, Nix v. Hedden, 149 U.S. 304 (1893), Library of Congress (PDF of the printed opinion) The court compared it with an earlier attempt to class beans as seeds. U.S. Reports, Nix v. Hedden, 149 U.S. 304 (1893), Library of Congress (PDF of the printed opinion)
The lower court had directed a verdict for the collector, and the Supreme Court affirmed the judgment. The case is reported as Nix v. Hedden, 149 U.S. 304 (1893). Justia: Nix v. Hedden, 149 U.S. 304 (1893)
| Case | Nix et al. v. Hedden, Collector Cornell Law School LII: Nix et al. v. Hedden, Collector |
|---|---|
| Reported as | 149 U.S. 304 (1893) Justia: Nix v. Hedden, 149 U.S. 304 (1893) |
| Decided | 10 May 1893 U.S. Reports, Nix v. Hedden, 149 U.S. 304 (1893), Library of Congress (PDF of the printed opinion) |
| Opinion by | Justice Gray U.S. Reports, Nix v. Hedden, 149 U.S. 304 (1893), Library of Congress (PDF of the printed opinion) |
| The law | The Tariff Act of 3 March 1883 U.S. Reports, Nix v. Hedden, 149 U.S. 304 (1893), Library of Congress (PDF of the printed opinion) |
| What was at stake | A 10 percent duty on vegetables; fruit was on the free list Justia: Nix v. Hedden, 149 U.S. 304 (1893) |
| Result | Tomatoes are “vegetables” under the Act; judgment affirmed Justia: Nix v. Hedden, 149 U.S. 304 (1893) |
So which is it?
Both. The court accepted that, botanically, a tomato is the fruit of a vine; it decided what “vegetables” meant in everyday speech, for one tax law. That’s why a tomato can be a berry in a biology lesson and a vegetable in a salad. U.S. Reports, Nix v. Hedden, 149 U.S. 304 (1893), Library of Congress (PDF of the printed opinion) U.S. Reports, Nix v. Hedden, 149 U.S. 304 (1893), Library of Congress (PDF of the printed opinion)
Read the judgment yourself: the original U.S. Reports pages at the Library of Congress, and the text on Justia and Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute, all on the sources page.
Sources agree on where the tomato came from, but say it in different ways. More on when sources disagree.
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