The Tomato in America

Vegetarian Journal, Jan-Feb, 2003 by Meri Robie-Craven

By Andrew F. Smith

Did you know that before Robert Gibbon Johnson ate the first American tomato in September 1820, most Americans believed the delectable red fruit to be poisonous? If you did know that, did you then know that the story of Johnson is largely apocryphal, despite the yearly enthusiastic reenactment of the event carried out by Salem, Massachusetts, denizens?

In The Tomato in America, Andrew Smith debunks quite a bit of the mythology surrounding the love apple, its rise to glory in the American palate, its fall out of favor, and its second coming. From farm-fresh Jersey reds straight off the vine, through tomatoes served in pill form or made into whiskey, up to what we know now as ketchup, the strange and interesting journey of the tomato through American cuisine is meticulously and faithfully documented in this historical study. Included at the end of the book is a section of pre-Civil War recipes, which, while not terribly practical for use in today's kitchen, provides a charming display of early American cookery. Note that these recipes are not necessarily vegetarian, and not necessarily possible, either.

The Tomato in America: Early History, Culture, and Cookery (ISBN 0-252-07009-7) is printed by the University of South Carolina Press. This 193-page book retails at $14.95 and should be available through local and online bookstores. Reviewed by Meri Robie-Craven.