Are tomato leaves edible?

They contain mildly toxic compounds

Tomatoes Quiz: Can You Get 8 Out of 10?

In 1893 the US Supreme Court ruled in Nix versus Hedden that tomatoes should be taxed as vegetables, even though botanists call them fruits, and this tomatoes quiz explores their colorful history. Learn how tomatoes came from the Andes, why Europeans once feared them and how Buñol's La Tomatina and Italian San Marzanos made them famous.

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🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Court
Which 1893 Supreme Court case treated tomatoes as vegetables?
Botany
Botanically, what is a tomato?
Origin
Where did wild tomatoes originate?
Fear
Why were tomatoes once feared in Europe?
Name
What did Italians first call tomatoes?
Lycopene
Which red pigment is found in tomatoes?
San Marzano
Where are San Marzano tomatoes grown?
Heirloom
What are heirloom tomatoes?
Ketchup
Which company popularized tomato ketchup in 1876?
Leaves
Are tomato leaves edible?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Which 1893 Supreme Court case treated tomatoes as vegetables?
Answer: Nix v. Hedden
It concerned import tariffs.
Q2: Botanically, what is a tomato?
Answer: A fruit (a berry)
It grows from a flower ovary.
Q3: Where did wild tomatoes originate?
Answer: The Andes of South America
Mexico domesticated them.
Q4: Why were tomatoes once feared in Europe?
Answer: They belong to the nightshade family
Some nightshades are poisonous.
Q5: What did Italians first call tomatoes?
Answer: Pomodoro, golden apple
Early ones may have been yellow.
Q6: Which red pigment is found in tomatoes?
Answer: Lycopene
Cooking makes it easier to absorb.
Q7: Where are San Marzano tomatoes grown?
Answer: Near Mount Vesuvius
They have PDO status.
Q8: What are heirloom tomatoes?
Answer: Old open-pollinated varieties
Seeds are saved for generations.
Q9: Which company popularized tomato ketchup in 1876?
Answer: Heinz
It became a global condiment.
Q10: Are tomato leaves edible?
Answer: They contain mildly toxic compounds
The fruit is safe.

Tomatoes Quiz – From Feared Fruit to Kitchen Staple

Tomatoes originated in the Andes of South America and were domesticated in Mexico. Spanish explorers brought them to Europe in the 1500s, where many people feared them because they belong to the nightshade family.

Italians called them pomodoro, golden apple, and eventually tomatoes became central to Italian cooking, especially San Marzano tomatoes grown near Vesuvius. Heinz popularized ketchup in 1876, and tomato festivals like La Tomatina celebrate the fruit.

Botanically, tomatoes are berries, but the US Supreme Court ruled in Nix v. Hedden in 1893 that they should be taxed as vegetables. Tomatoes contain lycopene, a red pigment, and heirloom varieties preserve old flavors and colors.

What This Quiz Teaches

Food lovers and history fans will enjoy these questions.

Which court case labeled tomatoes
Where tomatoes came from
Why Europeans feared them
What lycopene is
What heirloom means

Did You Know?

Cherry tomatoes are small varieties.
Tomatillos are a different plant.
Sun-dried tomatoes are an Italian specialty.
Green tomatoes can be fried.
Tomatoes ripen with ethylene gas.