Tomato, also known as tomato, is native to the Andes Mountains of South America and was first domesticated and cultivated in Mexico. With the advent of the Age of Discovery in the 16th century, the tomato growing area became a colony of Portugal and Spain. So Tomato followed the Portuguese and traveled all over the world.
It spread to Spain and Portugal in 1523, to Italy 17 years later, and spread throughout Europe around 1575. It was actually a hundred years later that tomatoes were introduced to our country. It is estimated that the ancient Ming Dynasty book "Plants" records that tomatoes were introduced to China by missionaries from the West during the Wanli period, and it is also recorded in "Qunfang Pu".
At first, the appearance of this fruit was too colorful. People thought this fruit was poisonous, so they were very wary of it and did not dare to try it. Therefore, for a long time, it spread in Europe as an ornamental food. It wasn't until the 18th century that a French painter accidentally discovered a tomato tree while sketching in the wild. He couldn't resist the temptation of the fruit and took a bite. He was surprised to find that "I am not dead"! Later, a chef heard about it and made it into a dish, which was very popular. Since then, tomatoes have entered thousands of households and become a world-class vegetable. The disappearance of tomato flavor
The disappearance of tomato flavor mainly has two aspects: first, the popularity of household refrigerators. Research shows that as the refrigeration time increases, the content of aroma components in tomatoes will decrease. But this is only a secondary reason, the main reason comes from inside the tomato.
We can look at the tomato issue from another angle. In the supermarket, do you prefer big, red tomatoes that look great, or do you prefer tomatoes that are green and odd-looking? Obviously, most people will choose the former. After all, in this world that values ??appearance, good appearance means good taste.
But the facts are somewhat different from this. Compared with traditional varieties of tomatoes, there are almost 13 ingredients that enhance the "flavor" of tomatoes in modern varieties, which have significantly decreased. In other words, ancient varieties of tomatoes retain a stronger tomato flavor. The tomato varieties currently sold and grown are all improved varieties. Indicating consumers' requirements for good appearance, breeders generally select tomatoes that are durable in storage, large in size, and good in appearance. The enhancement of these genes will suppress the tomato flavor genes.
To sum up, the reason why "tomatoes don't taste like tomatoes" is caused by "market regulation". Consumers like good-looking plants, so someone will inevitably breed plants that are good-looking and easy to store, and these plants usually have genes that inhibit odor molecules.