Beefsteak Tomato
(Scientific Name: Solanum lycopersicumSelection Information
Usage: Use in salads, sandwiches, salsa, chili, stews, casseroles, stuffed or broiled.
Selection: Good-quality Slicing Tomatoes will be firm, smooth-skinned and be at least pink in color. Tomatoes that are partially green will ripen if left at room temperature.
Avoid: Avoid product that is too soft, wrinkled or that has broken skin. Tomatoes with a green blush will ripen, but avoid product with blotchy green or brown areas.
Seasonal Information
Tomatoes are available year-round from California, Mexico and Florida.
Washington tomatoes are available during August and September.
Beefsteak Slicing Tomato Nutritional Information
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Serving Size: 1 medium tomato (149g)
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| Amount Per Serving |
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Calories 27
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Calories from Fat 2
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% Daily Value* |
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Total Fat 0g |
0% |
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Cholesterol 0mg |
0% |
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Sodium 7mg |
0% |
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Total Carbohydrate 6g |
2% |
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Dietary Fiber 2g |
7% |
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Sugars 4g |
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Protein 1g |
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Vitamin A 25% |
Vitamin C 32% |
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Calcium 1% |
Iron 2% |
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*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
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Tomatoes are low in Sodium, and very low in Saturated Fat and Cholesterol.
They're also a good source of Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol), Thiamin, Niacin,
Vitamin B6, Folate, Magnesium, Phosphorus and Copper, and a very good source
of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Potassium and Manganese.
Tomato Tips & Trivia
- Do not refrigerate tomatoes! They will retain their flavor and ripen
correctly at room temperature. Once they are ripe, use within 3 days.
- This vegetable is actually a berry, and is though to have come first
from the Andes mountains, and the present name is close to the Indian name.
It belongs to the nightshade family, along with potatoes, eggplants, peppers
and tobacco.
- In Europe, where it was taken by the Spanish, the tomato was grown
only as a ornamental for many years. Eating tomatoes was considered certain
to prove fatal. Even in North America, it has been only in the past 150
years that people mustered enough courage to try eating them. That all changed
starting on the courthouse steps in Salem, New Jersey, at twelve o'clock
noon on September 26, 1820, when Colonel Robert G. Johnson ate not one,
but a basketful of tomatoes. He not only lived, he wasn't a bit ill following
his demonstration.
- In 1893, the Supreme Court ruled that the tomato must be considered
a vegetable, even though, botanically, it is a fruit. Because vegetables
and fruits were subject to different import duties, it was necessary to
define it as one or the other. So, tomatoes were declared to be a vegetable
given that it was commonly eaten as one. (Source: The Packer, 6/9/90)
- Tomatoes were popularized in this country when the Creoles in New Orleans included them in their popular gumbos and jambalayas. (Source: The California Tomato Board.)
