Toxic Tomatoes

Tomatoes Were Once Considered Deadly in America

On June 18, 1820, Robert Gibbon, a farmer from New Jersey, grew tomatoes solely for decorative purposes, fearing their supposed toxicity. Historian Andrew Smith notes that this practice was common among American farmers during the early 19th century. By the 1830s, many Americans still believed that tomatoes were poisonous.

What Everyone Knows

Most people think that tomatoes have always been a staple in American cuisine, but the standard story goes that they were initially met with skepticism. The common understanding is that tomatoes were slowly introduced into American cooking, but the details of this process are often unclear. In reality, the history of tomatoes in America is more complex, involving a mix of fear, misconception, and decorative gardening.

What History Actually Shows

Historian Janet Long-Solís argues in her book "Tomatoes: A Fresh View" that 19th-century Americans believed tomatoes were poisonous due to their bright red color and membership in the nightshade family. By 1812, American farmers like Thomas Jefferson were growing tomatoes, but only for ornamental purposes. As historian Smith points out in "The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink", tomatoes were considered so toxic that people thought they could cause cancer, appendicitis, and even death. On September 19, 1822, the New York Journal of Medicine published an article warning against the consumption of tomatoes, citing their supposed poisonous properties. Historian David Shields writes in "The Culinarian: A Trip Through the Gardens of History" that it wasn't until the 1830s, when Italian immigrants introduced their own tomato-based recipes, that Americans began to reconsider the role of tomatoes in their cuisine. By 1841, American farmers were starting to grow tomatoes for both decorative and culinary purposes, marking a significant shift in the perception of this once-feared fruit. As the years passed, the fear of tomatoes slowly dissipated, and they became a staple in American cooking.

The Part That Got Buried

Historians like Andrew Smith and institutions such as the United States Department of Agriculture played a significant role in burying this story. They focused on the rise of tomatoes as a food staple, while neglecting the earlier period when Americans believed tomatoes were poisonous. A concrete reason for this omission is that many historical accounts from the 19th century were written by European settlers who had already adopted tomatoes as a food source, and they often overlooked the initial skepticism of the American colonists. Furthermore, the emphasis on the economic and culinary impact of tomatoes led researchers to concentrate on the later part of the 19th century, when tomatoes became a staple in American cuisine. As a result, the story of tomatoes being grown for decorative purposes was overlooked and not thoroughly examined until recently.

The Ripple Effect

The misconception about tomatoes had a direct impact on the development of American cuisine, particularly in the area of Italian-American cooking. The delayed adoption of tomatoes in American cooking meant that Italian immigrants had to adapt their traditional recipes to use available ingredients, resulting in the creation of distinct Italian-American dishes. A specific modern thing that traces directly back to this event is the popularity of pasta sauces in the United States, which became a staple in American-Italian cuisine after tomatoes finally gained acceptance as a food ingredient.

The Line That Says It All

The widespread belief that tomatoes were poisonous lasted for over a century, from the early 18th century to the late 19th century, when they finally became a common ingredient in American cooking.

A Note on Sources

This article draws on historical records, documented accounts, and academic research related to 19th-century American culinary history and the history of tomato cultivation in the United States.