Anne and her love for kamatis (tomato)

I don’t know how it developed and when. All I remember is that one day I came home with a bag of tomatoes then Anne kept pointing to it which I cannot understand, I tried to ignore her until my Mom told me to wash one and give it to Anne and we will see if she eats it. And she did!

From then on she eats tomatoes whenever she sees one on the table or wherever she sees it. I don’t know if its in the genes, her father tells me that he was fond of eating tomatoes when he was a kid and so as Anne’s Ninang Lyra. Oh well, if eating tomatoes will make her grow up to be as pretty as her Ninang Lyra, then I don’t have a reason from stopping her eat/like tomatoes!

Anyway, I did a research and what I learned is that it really doesn’t have much nutrients like the other fruits but it is really rich in Vitamin C. A medium tomato (120 g) contains about 23 mg of vitamin C and it enhances iron absorption. But tomatoes is poor in calories that’s why it is often included in diet since you need not worry about excess kilos when you eat it. In addition, tomatoes has lycopene which is the responsible in the red color of the tomato and which is known to a phytochemical, which means that it fights some cancer.

When buying tomatoes, pick the ones with really smooth skin, avoid the ones with bruises and the soft ones or refrigerated, since the cold damages them. When exposed to cold, crakes will create on the skin opening it to bacteria, so never store tomatoes that has been washed. Just wash them on warm water before eating it but not before storing it. Tomatoes must be stored in room temperature but not for too long for it will ripe.

Tomatoes can be added to anything since it goes well with any food. A trick I learned is that if a recipe calls for peeled tomatoes you don’t use a peeler for this, drop the tomatoes in boiling water for a minute or two then place it under running water and the skin will easily fall off. Isn’t this Interesting, guess I’ll try it one of these days.