The Tomato in America: Early History, Culture, and Cookery

by Andrew F. Smith

From the Americas to Australasia, from northern Europe to southern Africa, the tomato tickles the world's taste buds. Americans along devour more than twelve million tons annually of this peculiar fruit, variously considered poisonous, curative, and aphrodisiacal.
 
In this first concerted study of the tomato in America, Andrew F. Smith separates myth from historical fact, beginning with the Salem, New Jersey, man who, in 1820, allegedly attracted spectators from hundreds of miles to watch him eat a tomato on the courthouse steps (the legend says they expected to see him die a painful death). Later, hucksters such as Dr. John Cook Bennett and the Amazing Archibald Miles peddled the tomato's purported medicinal benefits. The competition was so fierce that the Tomato Pill War broke out in 1838.
 
The Tomato in America traces the early cultivation of the tomato, its infiltration of American cooking practices, the early manufacture of preserved tomatoes and ketchup (soon hailed as "the national condiment of the United States"), and the "great tomato mania" of the 1820s and 1830s. The book also includes tomato recipes from the pre-Civil War period, covering everything from sauces, soups, and main dishes to desserts and sweets.
 
Now available for the first time in paperback, The Tomato in America provides a piquant and entertaining look at a versatile and storied figure in culinary history.
 
 

Genres: History, Food, Nonfiction, Microhistory, Cookbooks

224 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1994

About the author

Andrew Francis Smith teaches food studies at the New School University in Manhattan. He has written more than three hundred articles in academic journals and popular magazines and has authored or edited seventeen books, including The Oxford Encyclopedia on Food and Drink in America, a James Beard finalist in 2005. He has been frequently appeared on several television series, including the History Channel's American Eats, and the Food Network's Heavy Weights.

Reviews

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would have given this book 5 stars (engaging, informative, well cited and annotated), except that it gives no thought or credence to the idea that the tomato could have spread to the American south, southwest, and Mississippi valley by virtue of Indian trade, rather than by Spanish colonization. I find it easier to believe the Aztecs introduced the tomato to the Texas/New Mexico/Louisiana area centuries ago than the Spanish came, conquered, took the tomato back to Spain, then re-imported it to the Americas.
Other than ignoring the native/indigenous people, a good read.

[Bernard Lavallée · Rating 4 out of 5]

To my knowledge, this remains one of the most comprehensive books on the history of the tomato in America. The author did an excellent job gathering early references to the fruit across a wide range of sources (seed catalogues, newspapers, cookbooks, books, agricultural journals, and more). That said, the sheer volume of information can at times make the text feel a bit dense. Another drawback is that the book was originally published over 30 years ago, so some of the content is now outdated. Still, it’s an excellent starting point for anyone interested in researching the topic.

[Josh Fogelson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Highly detailed and researched book on the tomato in America. Really only worth reading as an academic book for research. Focus on sociology of American society, not tomato breeding or genetics.