If you haven’t had your fill of tomatoes, an August class at the Southern Oregon Research and Extension Center is covering “all things tomato.”
The Aug. 10 demonstration starts with a short lecture on tomato history with Ellen Scannell, a local Family Food Education volunteer and Jackson County Master Gardener. Scannell is a wealth of horticultural lore and gave me a preview:
An American original, the tomato was transplanted in the 16th century to Spain, Portugal, Italy and England, where it was cultivated almost exclusively as an ornamental plant until the 1800s. In its native land, the tomato actually was considered a weed because it competed with more important crops — beans and corn — for space.
In addition to the term “love apple,” mentioned in this week’s A la Carte story, tomatoes also have been known as “Moor’s apple,” “stinking golden apple” and “wolf peach,” says Scannell. Not very flattering names for a plant whose odorous leaves caused early American colonists to deem the fruit poison.
Of course, today we know they couldn’t have been more wrong. There even are some modern recipes that call for using tomato leaves, but Scannell notes they are controversial and haven’t been approved by culinary experts.
Long before University Extensions established guidelines for canning, tomatoes were inured in jars under lids that were soldered on. That was in 1840s New Jersey, the first location of tomato canning, says Scannell.
“I was surprised that people didn’t die, and they may have,” she says of those early attempts.
About 40 years later, the U.S. Supreme Court declared the tomato a fruit, only to have its ruling called into doubt about a decade later when the government dubbed it a vegetable for trade purposes. Botanically, says Scannell, tomatoes are berries.
Commercially packaged salsas were first produced in 1940s Texas, she says. The forerunners of this condiment in America likely comprised ground squash seeds and chilies with the tomato.
Millennia later, plenty of people still make their own salsa — fresh and canned. The Extension class will give some pointers along those lines.
The first is add fresh herbs like cilantro to fresh salsas or to a canned salsa that has been opened for use. Cilantro, says Scannell, doesn’t can well. Varieties of peppers can be swapped in recipes, so long as the total quantity of peppers remains the same. You can’t do that with onion and can a safe salsa.
You can, however, swap lime juice for lemon juice, provided it’s a bottled lime juice with guaranteed acidity. Vinegar cannot be substituted for the citric acid.
“All Things Tomato” is planned for 7 to 9 p.m. in the Extension auditorium, 569 Hanley Road, Central Point. It costs $10. Call 541-776-7371 to register.
