Columbian Exchange - Tomatoes in The Old World

Tomatoes in The Old World

It took three centuries after their introduction in Europe for tomatoes to become readily accepted. In fact, of all the New World plants in Italy, only the potato took as long as the tomato to gain acceptance. In large part this was due to sixteenth-century physicians believing that this native Mexican fruit was poisonous and the generator of "melancholic humors." In 1544, Pietro Andrea Mattioli, a Tuscan physician and botanist, suggested that tomatoes might be edible, but no record exists of anyone consuming them at this time. On October 31, 1548 the tomato was given its first name anywhere in Europe when a house steward of Cosimo de' Medici, the grand duke of Tuscany, wrote to the Medici private secretary that the basket of pomi d'oro "had arrived safely." At this time the label pomi d'oro was also used to refer to figs, melons, and citrus fruits in treatises by scientists.

Tomatoes were grown mainly as ornamentals early on after their arrival in Italy. For example, the Florentine aristocrat Giovanvettorio Soderini wrote how they "were to be sought only for their beauty" and were grown only in gardens or flower beds. In fact, tomatoes were grown in elite town and country gardens in the fifty years or so following their arrival in Europe and were only occasionally depicted in works of art. However, in 1592 the head gardener at the botanical garden of Aranjuez near Madrid, under the patronage of Philip II of Spain wrote that "it is said are good for sauces." Besides this account, tomatoes remained exotic plants grown for ornamental purposes, but rarely for culinary use. The combination of pasta with tomato sauce only dates back to the late nineteenth century. There are around 32,000 acres of tomatoes cultivated in Italy today and there are still areas where relatively few tomatoes are grown and consumed.