How Tasty Are Your Tomatoes?

NatureSweet 7th Annual Homegrown Challenge Coming Back to Michigan

HOWELL, MI - Sunday, August 02, 2009 - NatureSweet® Tomatoes are vine-nurtured and hand-picked for homegrown taste. How do yours measure up? The NatureSweet Best Homegrown Tomato Challenge is coming back to Michigan this year to find out! This year’s event will be held at the Meijer® store at 3883 East Grand River in Howell on Saturday, September 26. Two grand prize winners will be awarded $2500 each for the best tomato in both the small and large categories, while runners-up will each receive $250 in Meijer Gift Cards. All entrants will receive a special gift from NatureSweet. ONE ENTRY PER HOUSEHOLD.

“NatureSweet tomatoes are grown from seeds cultivated to deliver the sweetest homegrown flavor no matter the season,” said Kathryn Ault, Marketing Director for NatureSweet. “Since our tomatoes are never harvested until their peak of sweetness, we can guarantee the best tasting tomatoes year round.” This summer NatureSweet will again give amateur gardeners a chance to see how their homegrown tomatoes measure-up. All entries will be Brix tested first (a scientific test used to measure the sugar content in a tomato), and then finalist tomatoes will be taste tested by a panel of local celebrity judges. All remaining tomatoes will be donated to a local food bank after the event.

Howell is one of only a handful of cities across America that were selected for this year’s Homegrown Challenge – the contest will also take place in McLean, VA; Arvada, CO; Clifton Park, NY; Lexington, KY; and Warwick, RI. Entry forms will be available at retail locations in the weeks leading up to the contest. Log onto www.naturesweettomatoes.com for more information.

Picked at perfection, NatureSweet tomatoes ripen on the vine to maintain their freshness, straight from the farm to your table. We guarantee that we will deliver the best tasting tomatoes, consistently year round. NatureSweet. Vine nurtured and hand picked for homegrown taste.

Did you Know?......Tomato Tidbits

  • Several studies have linked tomato consumption to a reduced risk of prostate cancer and other cancers of the digestive tract.
  • Tomatoes were originally cultivated in the Americas by the Aztecs and Incas.
  • The word tomato actually comes from the Aztec word "Tomato."
  • Columbus "discovered” the tomato and brought it back to Europe.
  • The French labeled the tomato "love apple"; the Germans called the tomato "apple of paradise."
  • By 1850, the tomato was an important produce item in every American city.
  • There are more than 4,000 varieties of tomatoes.
  • Americans eat roughly 17 lbs. of tomatoes per capita on average each year.
  • Did you know that tomatoes are cholesterol-free? It's true! And they are good for you, too.

A tomato is botanically a fruit, not a vegetable, because it develops from the ovary of the plant after fertilization has occurred. However, it is categorized by its use, thus making it a vegetable by law. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1893 that because the tomato is eaten with the main part of the meal instead of dessert, it is indeed a vegetable!

Source: NatureSweet Tomatoes