Seed Story

Tomatoes originate from South and Central America with wild tomatoes still found in the Andes. It is believed that they were part of the Aztec diet around 700AD.

They were brought to Europe by a Spanish explorer called Hernan Cortes. The Europeans were initially very wary of the tomato . As part of the nightshade family, it was believed to be poisonous and so was grown as an ornamental plant for a long time. 

Folklore said that if you ate a tomato its poison would turn your blood into acid – it is hard to believe that when today, people covet that flavourful heritage tomato salad in so many restaurants!

The Spanish commonly used the tomato in the 17th century – from there the Italians fell in love with it. In England although the plant was introduced in the late 1500s it wasn’t until the mid 18th century that we finally accepted it into our cuisine. 

The French referred to the tomato as pommes d’amour or love apples due to the perceived aphrodisiac properties of the tomato seeds.

Today there is a tomato for every cuisine and people the world over eagerly await the start of tomato season each year to enjoy this delightful fruit at its absolute best.