Tomato Facts

Tomato facts, picture of cherry tomatoes

Learn fun tomato facts and general information about tomatoes. This page includes how tomatoes grow, how to choose and store them, nutrition facts, and easy tomato recipe ideas.

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Fun Tomato Facts

  • Tomatoes grow from seeds.
  • They need warm weather, water, and sunshine.
  • Tomatoes often start green and ripen red.
  • They can be used in fresh recipes and cooked sauces.
  • Tomatoes are popular in soups, salads, salsas, and pasta sauces.

How Tomatoes Grow, Buying Tips, and Storage

When Tomatoes Are Available

When planted in late spring, tomato blossoms grow into green fruit and ripen red by mid summer through September or the first frost.

Depending on where you live, tomatoes may be available year round, but they often lack taste during the off season.

How Do Tomatoes Grow?

Tomatoes grow from a seed. They need lots of warm weather, water, and sunshine.

What to Look for When Buying a Tomato

Choose tomatoes with a bright red color and no bruises or spots.

You can also buy them a light red color and let them ripen after buying.

Tomatoes: Fruit or Vegetable?

Is a Tomato a Fruit or a Vegetable?

A tomato is technically a fruit because it grows from the flower of the plant and contains seeds.

But in cooking, tomatoes are often treated like vegetables because they are used in salads, sauces, soups, and savory dishes instead of sweet desserts.

That is why you may hear people call tomatoes both a fruit and a vegetable depending on whether they are talking about science or cooking.

Tomato Storage Tips

Store tomatoes at room temperature, not in the fridge. Tomatoes come from warm southern temperatures and like to stay warm.

Kid Tip: If a tomato is still a little firm, let it sit on the counter to finish ripening.

How to Cook with Tomatoes

How to Use Tomatoes

  1. Wash tomatoes well.
  2. Chop, dice, or puree them depending on the recipe.
  3. Use tomatoes in sauces, soups, salads, salsas, dips, or eat them fresh.
Cooking Tip: Tomatoes can be used fresh for crisp recipes or cooked down for sauces and soups.

Fresh Tomatoes vs. Cooked Tomatoes

Fresh tomatoes are great in salads, salsas, bruschetta, and cottage cheese bowls.

Cooked tomatoes work well in sauces, soups, broiled dishes, and baked recipes.

Both fresh and cooked tomatoes bring flavor and color to meals, but they are used in different ways.

Food Science: Ripening Tomatoes

Why Do Tomatoes Turn Red?

Tomatoes often begin green and change color as they ripen. As they ripen, they become softer, juicier, and more flavorful.

That is why tomatoes picked too early may not taste as sweet and rich as fully ripened ones.

Mini Activity

Tomato Seed Count

  1. Cut open a tomato with adult help.
  2. Look at the seed sections inside.
  3. Count how many seed sections you can see.
  4. Compare it to another tomato and see if it looks the same inside.

This activity helps kids observe how tomatoes hold seeds inside their juicy centers.

Tomato Nutrition Facts

Tomatoes are a source of vitamin C and vitamin A. They are also high in lycopene, which is linked to heart health.

  • Tomatoes contain vitamin C.
  • They also provide vitamin A.
  • Tomatoes are high in lycopene.
  • They are a colorful, healthy ingredient for many meals.

More Food Fact Resources




Tomato Recipes

Stuffed Tomatoes

Turn a fresh tomato into an edible serving bowl with this simple tuna salad recipe. Children can measure and mix the filling while an adult helps cut and hollow out the tomato.

  • Category: Main Dish
  • Prep: 15 minutes
  • Cook: 5 minutes
  • Yield: Varies
Tomatoes filled with tuna salad
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Ingredients

  • 1 large tomato
  • 1 can tuna, drained and flaked
  • 4 teaspoons mayonnaise
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped celery

Directions

  1. Add the tuna, mayonnaise, and celery to a small bowl.
  2. Stir until the ingredients are evenly combined.
  3. Have an adult slice the top from the tomato and carefully remove the center, leaving the outer shell intact.
  4. Spoon the tuna mixture into the tomato.
  5. Serve chilled, or place on a baking sheet and broil for 3–4 minutes for a warm version.
Variation: Fill the tomato with egg salad, chicken salad, crab salad, cottage cheese, or a mixture of chopped vegetables and cooked grains.
Serving Idea: Place the stuffed tomato on lettuce and serve with whole-grain crackers or fresh fruit.

Easy Homemade Fresh Salsa

This easy homemade salsa combines fresh tomatoes, peppers, onion and mild green chilies with tomato paste and apple cider vinegar for extra flavor. Kids can help chop, mix, taste and adjust the ingredients to create their own version.

Easy Homemade Fresh Salsa
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Ingredients:

  • 4 medium tomatoes, diced (about 2 1/2 cups)
  • 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 1/2 bell pepper, finely chopped
  • 1 small (4 oz.) can mild diced green chilies, drained
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

  1. Add the diced tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, green chilies and garlic to a medium bowl.
  2. Stir in the tomato paste and apple cider vinegar until well combined.
  3. Add the salt and black pepper and mix again.
  4. Taste the salsa and adjust the seasonings as desired.
  5. For the best flavor, cover and refrigerate for about 30 minutes before serving.
Cooking Activity: This is a great recipe for letting kids experiment with flavors. After mixing the salsa, have kids taste it and decide whether it needs a little more salt, pepper, vinegar or another ingredient. Try using different colors of bell peppers to create your own salsa variation.

Tips:

  • If the tomatoes are especially juicy, drain off a little excess liquid before mixing.
  • For a smoother salsa, pulse the ingredients a few times in a food processor.
  • Add 1–2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro for extra flavor.
  • For more heat, replace some of the bell pepper with finely chopped jalapeño.
  • The tomato paste helps thicken the salsa and gives it a richer tomato flavor.

More Tomato Ideas

Bruschetta

Bruschetta

Top bread with tomatoes for a fresh Italian-style snack.

Pico de gallo

Pico de Gallo

Try another fresh tomato dip with diced vegetables.

Tomato sauce recipes

Homemade Tomato Sauce

Turn tomatoes into pasta sauce and other cooked recipes.

Tomato soup

Tomato Soup

Use tomatoes in warm homemade soup recipes.

Fresh Salsa Video

Baked Tomato and Mozzarella

Tomato Facts FAQ

When are tomatoes available?

Tomatoes are best from mid summer through September or until the first frost, though they may be available year round depending on where you live.

How do tomatoes grow?

Tomatoes grow from seeds and need warm weather, water, and sunshine.

What should you look for when buying a tomato?

Look for bright red color with no bruises or spots. Light red tomatoes can ripen after buying.

How should tomatoes be stored?

Store tomatoes at room temperature, not in the refrigerator.

What nutrients are in tomatoes?

Tomatoes provide vitamin C, vitamin A, and lycopene.

How can tomatoes be used in cooking?

Tomatoes can be used in sauces, soups, salads, salsas, dips, or eaten fresh.

Continue Learning About Tomatoes

Fresh salsa

Fresh Salsa

Use chopped tomatoes in a simple homemade salsa.

Tomatoes in salad

Tomatoes in Salad

Top salads with tomatoes for extra flavor and color.

Food Facts hub

Food Facts Hub

Explore more ingredient pages and food learning ideas.

Kids cooking lessons

Kids Cooking Lessons

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¡Hacemos Salsa! (Let's Make Salsa!) This colorful homemade salsa is a fun classroom cooking activity that teaches knife skills, teamwork, measuring, …

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Explore More Food Facts

Fruit Facts:
Apple Apricot Avocado Banana Berry Cherry Coconut Cranberry Dates Figs Grapefruit Grapes Kiwi Lemon & Lime Mango Melon Orange Papaya Peach Pear Pineapple Plum Tomato

Vegetable Facts:
Artichoke Asparagus Beet Broccoli Brussels Sprouts Cabbage Carrot Cauliflower Celery Corn Cucumber Eggplant Garlic Green Beans Kale Lettuce & Salad Greens Mushrooms Okra Onion Parsnip Peas Peppers Potato Radish Rhubarb Spinach Summer Squash & Zucchini Sweet Potato Turnip Winter Squash & Pumpkin

Food Group Facts:
Beans Eggs Nuts Seeds Meat Dairy Grains


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