1
$\begingroup$

How the first tomatoes (yellow) that arrived in Europe turned from yellow to red ?

I know the yellow pigment is xantophylle and the red one is lycopene, but my question is, was it an adaptation of the plant to new soil conditions, temperatures or insects ? Or just a natural random mutation like, and it probably already happened in America ?

Bonus question: Why did Europeans stopped to eat yellow tomates, and prefered red ones, was It because they though the fruit color was aphrodisiac ? And now why do even American tomatoes are red.

(They were called pommodoro in Italian, pomme d'or or pomme d'amour in French, " mala aurea " in Latin, and " love apple" in English.)

Improve this question
$\endgroup$

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
-1
$\begingroup$

Probably due to a natural genetic mutation amplified by human cultural preferences and selective breeding practices.

Europeans may have preferentially selected and cultivated the red varieties for a few reasons:

  1. The red colour was novel and visually striking compared to yellow/orange fruits more common in Europe.
  2. There was a belief that the deeper red colour indicated more ripeness.
  3. Different (arguably better?) flavour – yellow = less acidic + milder.
  4. Some cultures associated the vibrant red colour with love/fertility, lending to names like the French "pomme d'amour”.
Improve this answer
$\endgroup$

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .