The Food Value of the Tomato
THE tomato is sometimes subject to controversy as to whether it is a fruit or a vegetable. The truth seems to be that the tomato is a fruit in the herbarium, and a vegetable in the market. Dietetically, it seems to occupy a sort of middle position. It is acid like a fruit, but at the same time is composed of so large an amount of woody structure, or cellulose, that it must often be excluded with the same class of cases in which coarse vegetables are proscribed. The tomato unquestionably possesses a high dietetic value, and has been especially recommended for use in cases of blood impoverishment, a suggestion which perhaps rests upon the fact that it contains a considerable amount of iron. The presence of iron may easily be detected by applying to the cut surface of a tomato the ordinary tests for this reagent. As a food for supplying iron, the tomato is far superior to any of the combinations of iron so commonly used as a means of enriching the blood. It is unquestionably a fact that the tomato is a most valuable fruit, and that, when properly cooked, it is well received by all stomachs capable of receiving any food at all, except, perhaps, in cases of chronic gastritis, and its use may be advantageously encouraged.—Selected.