The tomato in Italy has a convoluted history. It’s hard to trace, but there are some key dates and places to keep in mind. For one, the tomato is not indigenous to Europe, though the Europeans certainly have found innumerable delicious ways to serve it. As far as we know, the first tomatoes to make it to Europe were brought by the Spanish Conquistadors from South America (Peru, specifically) in the early to mid-sixteenth century. The fruit was called “tomatl.”The first written account of a tomato in Italy dates to 1548 and it was in Tuscany. In that account, the fruit, incorrectly aligned with the eggplant, was given the name “pomidoro,” or, if we break the word into its natural components, “pomi d’oro,” golden fruits. That has since shifted into the singular in Italian, “pomodoro (pl. pomodori)." The pomodoro’s rise in Italy was not a quick one. In fact, many of the Italian dishes we consider "staples" that use tomatoes are actually quite young, born in the late nineteenth century when the tomato saw its greatest expansion throughout Italy. Tomato sauce? Nope, that’s a baby. Previous pasta and pizza condiments were solely olive oils, anchovies, and cheeses, to name just a few. But we must keep in mind that the terms “pasta” and “pizza,” too, are mere children.
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