Tomatoes: Putting the "Tax" in Taxonomy

In 1893 the United States had a 10% tax on imported vegetables but not fruits. John Nix paid his taxes on his tomatoes to a tax collector named Edward Hedden.

One day Nix came across the botanical definition of a fruit: the organ that emanates from the ovary of the plant and contains the seeds. Nix then sued Hedden for a refund of his taxes on the grounds that tomatoes are a fruit.

The case ended up before the Supreme Court who held that "the common language of the people" was to be followed rather than botanical definitions, and thus, the tomato was erroneously deemed a vegetable.

Nix's attempt to recoup his unfairly collected tax money was nixed. Taxonomy, the science of classifying living organisms, was subverted for financial aims. A taxing blow you could say.

The tomato is a rags to riches story; a twisting trans-Atlantic journey in quest of a culinary identity. Tomatoes are indigenous to South America specifically the region of Peru.

They have been grown for food since prehistoric times. Europeans brought them back to the Old World in the 1500's. However, being a member of the nightshade family, (which does contain some toxic plants), they were considered poisonous and used only for decorations.

Eventually the Italians, (and probably the Spanish as well), got past their irrational fears and began to embrace the tomato. Thus began the tomato's ascension to the culinary hall of fame.

Soon all of Europe had adopted the tomato. This one time "poisonous" fruit was now considered an aphrodisiac by the French who called them pommes d'amour or "love apples."

Ironically, even though the tomato originated in the Americas, it was the Europeans bringing it back to America which triggered its popularity in the US. But it still took until the 1900s for the "fruit" of their efforts to be fully realized.

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