Blue or purple tomatoes. It seems strange, but they are already in many supermarkets and greengrocers, and more and more are being sold. Why do they have this color? What flavor do they have and what applications can they be given in the kitchen?
Miguel Ángel Lurueña, a food technologist, better known on social networks as Gominolas de Petróleo, explained on Twitter a few weeks ago that these fruits have become popular in recent years. "They have such a striking color because the skin contains anthocyanins, pigments that are naturally present in many fruits and vegetables, such as red grapes or blueberries, and have antioxidant properties."
Inside these tomatoes are more or less red or green depending on the degree of maturation, as is the case with other varieties. "They have an intense and fruity flavor, and although they are usually more expensive than other varieties, they are a good alternative," they explain in DP. Due to their characteristics, they have become one more product to take into account when buying vegetables and fruits.
Diego Orzáez is a researcher at the CSIC, specifically at the Institute of Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology. A few years ago they studied these tomatoes. "They are enriched with antioxidants and are interesting because they are healthy," he told RAC1.cat. The original blue tomatoes —not the ones we find now for sale in Catalonia— were transgenic, created in the United Kingdom, specifically at the John Innes Center. As Orzáez explains to us, it was the researcher Cathie Martin who created and studied them in 2008.
The first GM purple tomatoes developed in the British Isles are being harvested in Ontario, Canada, for further research and to attract interest from private investors. “These strains have been shown to have anti-inflammatory effects compared to regular strains and slow the progression of soft tissue carcinoma in cancer-prone mice. They also have twice the lifespan,” the researchers comment.
“The original work showed in mice, and in an experimental system, that rodents prone to tumors and cancer saw an improvement. The treatment reduced the tumors and lengthened the life of the animals”, says Orzáez from the CSIC. However, it must be noted, be careful, that this has only been seen in mice.
“In Spain there are non-transgenic varieties that are similar to these, they have purplish skin, but they are not the same. Transgenic tomato varieties cannot be grown in Europe”, recalls the CSIC researcher.
Similar varieties, but not transgenic at all, are those grown in Catalonia by Lluís Fisas on the Can Fisas farms, and sold at Fruits Molins, with a stop at the Mercado de la Concepción in Barcelona. He was one of the first to grow blue tomatoes —and a thousand and one colors— in Catalonia. Fisas is probably one of the people who knows the most about new and old tomato varieties, and all kinds of fruits and vegetables.
“I started growing blue tomatoes in 2019, when I met a man from California who has exotic tomatoes of old varieties, and he makes crosses. He has recovered all the varieties in his country, and I was interested because one year I managed to make 40 tomato varieties: blue, red, yellow...", explains Fisas. "Now they have become more fashionable, but I have been growing them for years ”.
“They have antioxidants like blueberries, yes, and they also provide the characteristic color to the dish,” says the expert. "I enjoy trends, I believe in eating colors, putting color in life and in food we will be healthier and happier." Put a blue beauty (that's the name of the variety) in your life... or on your plate. Prices? It depends on whether they are organic or not, if it is in season, if they are from a specific brand... The range ranges between three and seven euros.
Read the original RAC1 article here.
