Tomato is undoubtedly one of the main ingredients of all summer dishes. Enjoy all the flavor that the tomato season offers you and we will discover in this post all its properties and secrets of conservation and cooking.tion.
Is it a vegetable, is it a fruit, is it a bird, is it a plane? Despite what many people think, the tomato is actually a fruit. Today we are very familiar with the tomato , but nor it began to be consumed until it was brought from America by the Spanish conquerors. In principle it was used more as an ornamental and medicinal plant than for its edible uses. It is not until the eighteenth century when it really begins to be cultivated with usesfood. It is currently present practically all over the world. In Spain it is grown, above all, in Murcia, Alicante, Almería, Gran Canaria and Tenerife.
Although there are tomatoes all year round thanks to the greenhousesThe best are those of the summer season , with a more intense color and flavor, especially if they are left to ripen in the sun in the bush itself. The varieties are many, although for sauces and stews I improve thems are those of the pear type, with fine skin and abundant pulp. They are also the most used for tomato preserves. The highly decorative cherry tomatoes are ideal for salads, pizza and stir-fries. Other highly appreciated varieties arethe Kumato, the tomato raf, or the heart of ox, also fantastic to enrich our salads and summer dishes.
Tomatoes are a fruit with a high water content, low in carbohydrates and calories and are an excellent source of fiber. Provides a large number of antioxidants , including lycopene,that have been shown to be efficient in fighting different forms of cancer. The more ripe and red the tomato , the higher the antioxidant content. If we season it with a littleades "> olive oil , our body will absorb them even better. In addition, the tomato is a source of vitamins and minerals, and exerts a protective effect against cardiovascular diseases. It also improves theeye health and prevents hypertension and urinary tract infections. Tomatoes , as they contain vitamin E and C, are in the group of antioxidant foods, which is why they always haven than be welcome to your regular diet.
To eat a good tomato it is essential to choose them well. The tomatoes that we buy must be ready, red, firm but not hard. If we buy them very matureit is best to use them to make a delicious homemade tomato sauce. The skin must be smooth, healthy and shiny, without wrinkles or marks and preferably with the green and healthy cape. When you go to store them just do it in a baga perforated plastic and in the refrigerator. In this way they will be kept for more than a week in perfect condition.
It is the vegetable most consumed by the Spanish and, therefore, one of the most used when cooking.It can be incorporated into the diet in multiple ways: raw, in salad, as a garnish, in gazpacho (try Teresa's Gazpacho), or cooked in sauce accompanying pasta, rice, meat and fish. It can also be stuffed, baked, sauteedro prepare delicious jams. Raise your hand who can resist a recipe with tomato !
We complain that tomatoes are not what they used to be, but it is not true. To begin with, the tomate good is eaten in summer. If we consume it in winter it is totally out of its season, and it has not been able to synthesize all the compounds that give it flavor and nutrients. If you want to enjoy a good tomato ... Arovecha !! Thatsummer is over!