Hi there, and welcome to another tasty episode of… the Morrisons Fruit & Root Crew, where we’re on a mission to uncover some of the stories behind the hero seasonal food we eat – from juicy fruits to veggies with va va voom.

It’s July – the sun is hopefully shining, school’s nearly out and it’s the perfect time for outdoor fun like swimming, cycling, camping… and don’t forget barbecues! Mmm, kebabs and burgers. You can’t have a burger without this month’s succulent star. Now, what do you think it is – fruit or veg? Only one way to find out!

Let’s Spin the Peel of Fortune!

This month’s hero is a fruit – the one and only… Tomato!

Wait – tomato… did you say a fruit?

Yep! Tomatoes are fruits – because they’ve got seeds and grow from flowers! They’re juicy, round and packed with flavour. And don’t just come in red – you can get yellow, pink, purple, black, even white ones! Whatever the colour, they’re perfect for snacking, slicing, sauces and salads. And if you’ve got a bit of garden or even a pot, you can grow them yourself.

FRUITY FACTS!

• Tomatoes originally came from Peru… and the word “tomato” comes from the Aztec word tomatl, which means… “Plump thing with a navel.”
• Today there’s over 10,000 varieties around the world.
• Get this – the largest tomato plant in the world lives at Walt Disney World in Florida. It covers over 56 square metres – that’s bigger than an Olympic swimming pool!
• In Spain, they celebrate tomatoes with a full-on food fight. It’s called La Tomatina and over 150,000 tomatoes get squished, squashed and splattered.
• Now, did you know, tomatoes have even been to space? Over 600,000 seeds went on a trip to the International Space Station and when they came back, they were grown in classrooms as part of the Tomatosphere experiments.
• Back in olden times, people thought tomatoes were poisonous! Turns out, the pewter plates they ate from were full of lead – and tomatoes’ acidity made the lead leach out.

So as we can see, tomatoes are quite cool. But how are they grown? Let’s find out…

DOWN ON THE FARM!

Here in the UK, we munch our way through around 500,000 tonnes of fresh tomatoes every year. If you piled them all up, that’s equivalent to 3,800 double-decker buses! Whilst there’s around 850 tomato growers in the UK, we only produce 15% of what we eat so we import loads – especially from Spain, the Netherlands and Morocco. But that’s not stopping British farmers working hard to boost our homegrown crops.

The tomato season usually runs from March to October. But with clever technology and greenhouses, some growers are harvesting all year round! And get this – many tomatoes are grown using hydroponics – that’s where plants don’t grow in soil but in a nutrient-rich solution.

That means super-efficient water use! And the water we use can be reclaimed from rainwater – that’s an easy win for sustainability.

Some farmers grow tomato plants in 7 metre tall glasshouses, with LED lights and even solar panels. Others use biomass boilers for heat and anaerobic digesters to create gas and CO₂ to help the plants grow.

GET IN MA BELLY!

There’s a wide range of tomatoes. Some of our favs are:

• Beef tomatoes – big bold and good for stuffing
• Plum tomatoes – oval and juicy and great for sauces
• Cocktail tomatoes – medium size and sweet flavour
• Cherry tomato – these cute ones are great for snacking
• The classic all-rounder that’s perfect for salads sandwiches and salsas.

Now, if that’s got your stomach rumbling, here’s a few recipe ideas. Why not make a simple and delicious tomato soup? Much tastier than out of a tin! Or what about tomato jam? It’s great on buttered toast.

Or try a crunchy, summery fresh, crunchy caprese focaccia – or perhaps a tasty tomato tarte tatin?

And you can always keep it simple with the classic spaghetti bolognaise with those juicy plum tomatoes.

Click here to find some juicy recipes

THE MORRISONS FRUIT & ROOT CREW – EXPLORING OUR SEASONAL FRUIT AND VEG. FIND OUT MORE AT MORRISONS.COM