Tomatoes: A Love Story

2025-08-19 · 51 min · 11 entities

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Asserted relationships

→ hosted by Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley person

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Feed author/publisher: Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley
→ discusses History website

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→ discusses Science concept

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→ discusses Arts concept

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→ discusses food concept

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Feed category: Food

Entities found in this episode

concepts 6

mentioned Science concept

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mentioned Arts concept

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Feed category: Arts
mentioned food concept

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discusses Science concept

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Feed category: Science
discusses Arts concept

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Feed category: Arts
discusses food concept

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Feed category: Food

persons 2

mentioned Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley person

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Feed author/publisher: Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley
hosted by Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley person

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evidence rules-v5
Feed author/publisher: Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley

websites 2

mentioned History website

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Feed category: History
discusses History website

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Feed category: History

books 1

mentioned Love Story book

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Tomatoes: A Love Story

Episode description as stored

The tomato is Gastropod’s favorite flavor of summer, and we’re not alone: today, it’s the most popular vegetable on the planet, despite the fact that it's technically a fruit. But, until a couple of hundred years ago, the tomato wasn't really anyone's favorite. In South America, where the tomato originates, no one even bothered to domesticate it; in Mexico, the Aztecs seem to have preferred tomatillos; Renaissance Europeans thought this member of the nightshade family was practically poisonous; and, until the 1830s, most Americans considered them an “acquired taste.” Even in Italy, where the culinary mainstays of pizza and pasta now depend on red sauce, it took centuries to catch on. So why was the tomato so unloved—and how did it end up converting the haters on its rise to glory? Listen in this episode for the story of how Italian block parties, snake oil pills, and the state of Florida played in a role in the tomato’s journey to global domination—as well as the epic tale of one man’s quest to make the industrial tomato taste great again. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices