Red or yellow luscious tomatoes, eaten raw or cooked for centuries have a high nutritive value. To know about some tomato health benefits, scroll down.
Native to South America, tomatoes belong to the nightshade family and grow on sprawling plants (vines). It the most cultivated plant world over for its fruit; a vegetable to us. Presently there are about a thousand cultivars that suit different growing conditions. Tomato sizes can vary from a 5mm to a 6cm in diameter. They come in varied colors too, to enliven a platter; yellow, red, orange, green, and some ornamental colors of black, white pink, purple with patterns and all. Of all these, its mostly the red, yellow, green and orange ones most consumed. Unlike other fruits, tomatoes are slightly bitter and acidic in taste that gets tempered during cooking. They are not used in food preparation for their taste, flavor and color alone, but for the enormous amount of tomato health benefits.