Tomato "Portugues" F1

Why are tomatoes grown?
Well, of course, for the sake of their fruits, - any person will say with confidence, even the most distant from the problems of gardening.
One can imagine his surprise if he learns that at one time the Europeans valued, first of all, the decorative properties of the tomato and for this they grew it in their gardens.
Their admiration was not caused by the flowers of this vegetable - rather nondescript and small, but by its fruits.
It is no coincidence that the French called this plant "the apple of love", and the Italians - "golden apples".
Indeed, a tomato bush strewn with red, raspberry, pink or yellow fruits can become a true decoration of the garden. And besides, it is quite edible.
However, to realize this simple truth, it took humanity a long time.
At home, in South America, the tomato is not very popular. For some reason, the locals neglect this vegetable.
Suffice it to say that more tomatoes are harvested in Spain alone than in the entire South American continent.
And earlier, in pre-Columbian times, the Indians generally bypassed this plant. And in Europe for many years, the tomato was considered almost a poisonous plant.
The fact is that many of his relatives (henbane, belladonna) - are extremely dangerous for humans.
Fears were confirmed when the same poisonous substance was found in tomato fruits as in green potatoes - solanine.
Fortunately, this only applies to green fruits. In mature solanine does not remain. Except the smallest thing.
Then oxalic acid and its salts were found in the tomato. They began to say that salts of oxalic acid are deposited in the joints.
Then, when they calculated it, it turned out that there is less oxalic acid in a tomato than in a potato. Fears again were not confirmed.
And yet, opponents of the tomato find new arguments. Here is what Dr. Walker writes in his book Raw Vegetable Juices:
“Eat a fresh tomato for health. In addition to benefits, it does not give anything. But canned, boiled, fried - a completely different matter.
The three acids that give flavor to the tomato - malic, citric and oxalic - undergo such metamorphoses during canning that they can cause the deposition of stones in the kidneys and bladder.
True, not immediately, but in the distant future".
With this statement of Mr. Walker, for sure, many nutritionists will not agree. But almost all of them are unanimous that you should not combine cucumbers and tomatoes in one salad,
because this will complicate the process of digestion. Tomatoes do not go well with meat and fish: it is recommended to eat a tomato salad 30 minutes before serving a meat or fish dish.
And one more piece of advice: do not buy imported tomatoes. They look like real tomatoes only in appearance.
But this is not the main thing: to stimulate the ripening of fruits, sellers often use drugs that are far from harmless.