Heritage Tomatoes

The tomato is an herbaceous, plant in the Solanaceae family like its close cousins tobacco, peppers and potato. The wild tomato is native to Central, South, and southern North America from Mexico to Argentina. The Aztecs in Mexico called it ‘xitomatl’ (pronounced shi-to-ma-tlh), meaning plump thing with a navel. In South America the tomato is a perennial. After the Spanish colonization of the Americas, the Spanish distributed the tomato throughout their colonies in the Caribbean. They also brought the tomato to Europe. It grew easily in Mediterranean climates, and cultivation began in the 1540s. It was probably eaten shortly after it was introduced, though it was certainly being used as food by the early 1600s in Spain. An heirloom (or heritage) tomato is an open-pollinated (non-hybrid) cultivar of tomato. Heirloom tomatoes have become increasingly popular and more readily available in recent years (heritage seeds). The definition of the use of the word "heirloom" to describe plants is highly debated. Regardless of a person's specific interpretation, most authorities agree that heirlooms, by definition, must be open-pollinated and bred and stabilized using classic breeding practices. It is currently generally agreed that no genetically modified organisms can be considered heirloom varieties. Very popular Heritage Tomatoes are: Black Krim, Brandywine, Cherokee Purple and Green Zebra.