What if there was no tomato sauce on pizza, no ketchup with fries, or spaghetti without that rich red tangy flavor? Hard to picture, right? Tomatoes are so deeply woven into our everyday meals but have you stopped and wondered how they got there in the first place?

You’ll be amazed to know that the journey of this everyday kitchen hero is anything but ordinary. From being mistaken as poisonous to becoming the heart of global cuisines, the tomato has a wild, world traveling backstory.

We’ll be taking a look into one of the most popular fruits (yes, fruit!) on the planet. If you’ve ever wondered where are tomatoes from, when did tomatoes come to Italy and stole the culinary spotlight, or what to do with extra tomatoes, you’re in for a treat.

And if you’ve ever grown a backyard tomato plant and found yourself buried in ripe fruit, what exactly should you do with the extras? Let’s peel back the layers (and yes, puns are very much intended) on one of the world’s most beloved fruits.

Welcome to Iconic Foods & Drinks: The History of Tomatoes, presented by Cocina Digital.

Tomatoes are fruits, despite being used as vegetables in culinary contexts.

The Global Journey of the Tomato: From Wild Fruit to Kitchen Superstar

We all enjoy tomatoes nowadays, but most of us probably don’t give it any thought in terms of from where did tomatoes originate.

Tomatoes originated in South America, they grew on the slopes of Andes region as wild berries. These early fruits were not red plump ones like we know today, they were small, yellow and orange in color.

Tomatoes are believed to have originated in the Andean region of South America.

When we say small, we mean the size of blueberries!

Scientists suggested that these small tomatoes were domesticated some 7,000 years ago in South America, from where they originated.

With advancements in genetics research, the current science says that tomatoes were not as small as blueberries, but more like the size of cherries. More interesting is that they were this size without any human domestication.

Both old and new science, however, seem to agree that tomatoes eventually made their way from South America to what is known as Mesoamerica — southern Mexico and parts of Central America.

Early civilizations like the Aztecs were the first to domesticate them. They called them tomatl, and they weren’t just eating it, they were creating spicy salsas mixed with chillies and herbs were used for medicinal practices. It was already a kitchen staple before European contact. Now, you know where does the tomato come from: Latin America.

The domestication of tomatoes by the Aztecs eventually gave us the tomato-size tomatoes (does that even sound right?) that most of us are familiar with today.

New World, Meet Old World

The Columbian exchange [1], a term coined in the 1970s to refer to the transfer of crops, animals, and disease between the New World and the Old World, began shortly after the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés had conquered the Aztec Empire in the area of Mexico known as Tenochtitlan – circa 1521.

In this dramatized image, Hernan Cortes, La Malinche, and other figures from the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire look over produce from the Aztecs.

From Mexico, tomatoes crossed the Atlantic Ocean to Europe by way of Spanish galleons or caravels. Crossing an ocean in those times was a hazardous affair and could take weeks or months. Mother nature largely controlled your fate.

While probable, it’s unlikely that there was much debate on whether tomatoes were fruits or vegetables on these voyages.

That level of preoccupation was a luxury for landlubbers since actual crew on wind-powered wooden ships had greater concerns such as fresh water, food, the call of sirens, and avoiding ship-eating monsters of the seas.

Cross-Atlantic journeys on wind-powered wooden ships were fraught with peril in the 16th century.

Despite being edible, as evidenced by the centuries of consumption by the indigenous populations of South America and modern-day Mexico, the Europeans weren’t having any of it.

The problem?

Because tomatoes were part of the same family of plants known commonly as the nightshade family (already a scary sounding name) and because some plants in the nightshade family were known to be toxic, the Spanish and most of Europe were saying “no bueno” to these fruits of the New World.

Talk about a cold reception! (And that's bad for tomatoes since they thrive in warm climates!)

Besides Europe, the Spanish also brought tomatoes to the rest of its colonies in the Caribbean and the Philippines.

The Philippines was the launching pad for tomatoes to enter into Southeast Asia and eventually mainland China.

When Were Tomatoes Introduced To Italy?

With the amount of culinary preference given to tomatoes that are grown in Italy, you’d think that Italy has always had tomatoes. As you’ve read so far, tomatoes were not known in Italy before the 16th century.

Wondering, then, when did tomatoes come to Italy? Tomatoes arrived in Italy around the mid-1500s, brought over from the Americas. However, Italians were suspicious of the bright red fruit, like much of Europe.

Italian cooking did not initially embrace tomatoes.

After all, that whole “nightshade” thing cast tomatoes in a bad light, no pun intended!

Things began to change in the late 1600s, especially in Naples, where tomatoes slowly found their way into everyday cooking.

Granted, it only took a couple of centuries, but eventually Italians and the rest of Europe started saying, “Hey, these tomatoes taste pretty good and oh wow, we aren’t dying from eating them! Let’s make some dishes with them!”

The San Marzano tomato that grows in the Campania region of Italy are especially prized for its flavor and lower level of acidity. It is so prized, as a matter of fact, that it has a PDO designation.

San Marzano tomatoes are grown in volcanic soil near Mt. Vesuvius, the volcano that famously erupted in 79 A.D. and buried the city of Pompeii.

PDO stands for Protected Designation of Origin and is a European Union labeling system that means the product being designated as PDO is only produced and available by the name given from that region identified in its PDO.

All of this is to say that tomatoes had to wait nearly two centuries to see widespread use in Italian cooking and now, more than 300 years later, we can’t ever imagine a time that there wasn’t tomato sauce on pizza, a world without marinara sauce, and so on and so on.

Before pasta met tomato sauce, it was like a band missing its lead singer… like a K-Pop boy band where no one has blue hair. It just seems off!

K-Pop boy bands had not yet been discovered in the 16th century.

If you find yourself following a recipe that you found on YouTube and the ingredients list San Marzano tomatoes, you're most likely being used a canned style of the tomatoes.

Hold that can in your hand. Run the tip of your finger along the PDO label.

Think of the centuries of time that have passed since that family of tomatoes left the New World, evaded suspicious eyes upon arriving in Italy, and have since traveled from San Marzano to now be in your kitchen.

Very unlikely that you’ll do anything of those things that we just suggested, but best of luck on whatever dish you’re about to make. Use our website if you need a food cost calculator — just throwing it out there!

San Marzano tomatoes being sun dried.

In case you might have been wondering, what did Italians eat before tomatoes transformed their food?

Traditional Italian fare focused on olive oil, legumes, herbs like rosemary and sage, onions, garlic, bitter greens, and grains like farro and polenta. In short, what was Italian food like before tomatoes? There was no red sauce, but plenty of rustic, deeply savory meals.

If we’re being honest with each other, though, thankfully Italians of the 16th century got over their fear of tomatoes.

From Feared Fruit to Kitchen Royalty

By the 18th century, tomatoes finally lost their bad reputation. Farmers developed sweeter, larger varieties, and cooks experimented with stewing, roasting, and preserving them.

Leonardo da Vinci died in 1519 and would never know the joys of tomato sauce, which came after his time.

Over time, their flavor and health benefits won over Europe. Eventually, tomatoes went global, spreading to Asia, Africa, and North America. They inspired new dishes, from Italy, tomatoes migrated across continents:

• 🇫🇷 In France, they starred in ratatouille.

• 🇮🇳 In India, they added acidity to curries.

• 🇯🇵 In Japan, ketchup became a key ingredient in dishes like omurice (omelette rice).

• 🇪🇹 In Ethiopia, tomatoes were blended into spiced sauces.

In addition to being flavor bombs, tomatoes were nutritional powerhouses. They are rich in vitamin C, potassium, and lycopene, an antioxidant linked to heart health.

Tomatoes in Today’s World

There is more to tomatoes than just being an ingredient; it is a cultural icon. San Marzano tomatoes are also sweet with low acidity in Italy. Tomatoes form an essential ingredient to salsa in Mexico. In the U.S., the summer means BLTs and fresh tomato salads.

Tomatoes are fruits, despite being used as vegetables in culinary contexts.

People even go to festivals such as La Tomatina in Spain, where people hurl tomatoes at each other as a form of entertainment (the mess is also part of the fun!)

There is also an increased demand in heirloom tomatoes characterized by their colors and flavors. Old varieties taste better than the large uniform ones that most people get in supermarkets, which is turning back more chefs and farmers to explore these varieties that taste so good.

Final Thoughts

So to summarize, where are tomatoes from? They had originated in the Andes and crossed oceans. Where did tomatoes originate? On the South American highlands. Where does the tomato come from? Its native region was well away beyond Italy, yet it has found a home there and in kitchens all over the globe.

They began as garden novelties and from there became food celebrities. They altered our way of eating, cooking, and even made us think about flavor.

We love tomatoes not only in terms of their flavor but also in terms of the story. They remind us that food continuously changes and that some simple food such as tomatoes, can bring happiness, folks, and tradition to the table.

The history of tomatoes: from Mesoamerica to the world, tomatoes have traveled far and wide.