Interesting Tomato Trivia

From California Growers Tomato Association

SACRAMENTO, CA – There are an incredible number of differences between store bought tomatoes and tomatoes that are processed for canning and sauces.

One of the first and most important is that processed tomatoes are harvested ripe and red. In contrast, fresh market tomatoes are picked green and some of the fresh tomatoes are gassed with the fruit’s own natural ripening hormone called ethylene to promote consistent ripening.

The second is that processed tomato Trivia are used immediately, from the moment of harvesting less than 6 hours pass until the tomato is in the can.

Third, processing tomatoes are completely machine harvested, the only humans needed are for picking out stray vines and any rare tomatoes that are moldy or crushed.

How do tomatoes survive transport?

If you have ever seen a load of tomatoes rolling down the freeways of central California filled to the brim, you may have wondered what keeps them from smashing themselves. These tomatoes have been selectively bred for over 50 years to be quite different from the tomato you would buy in the store. One of the qualities they have is a much thicker skin than fresh tomatoes, it is this property that allows them to survive the weight of 25,000 pounds of tomatoes without suffering much damage.

How much does a tomato truck hold?

A typical tomato truck holds 50,000 pounds of tomatoes, which is about 300,000 tomatoes.

Why are tomato trucks uncovered?

Time. During the height of the season, California tomato growers produce 2,000,000,000 pounds of tomatoes per week! To put that in perspective that is 40,000 tomato trucks each carrying 300,000 tomatoes. The other main reason is that since tomato harvest is in the summer, covering the trucks could result in the tomatoes being damaged by the trapped heat.

Are tomatoes fruits or vegetables?

The answer to this question is an interesting bit of tomato trivia. Technically a tomato is a fruit, since it is the ripened ovary of a plant. But in 1893 the supreme court ruled in the case of “NIX v. HEDDEN” tomatoes were to be considered vegetables.

(The CTGA is an association of California processing tomato growers that provides economic, public policy and business leadership for the benefit of growers and the industry.)