Can you imagine Italian food without tomato sauce? Spain without gazpacho in the Summer? Or Lebanese fattoush salad without the bright red of chopped tomatoes? Tomatoes are such an integral ingredient in so many cuisines around the world, that it is hard to believe they were introduced into many of them only a few hundred years ago. Tomatoes originated in Mexico, and it was not until the 16th Century that they were taken to Europe to be planted in new soil. But even then, they were observed with caution. In England they believed tomatoes to be poisonous, and responsible for causing many kinds of ills. Many other plants in the nightshade family Solanaceae, like eggplant, were regarded in the same way. It took at least 100 years before they made their way into the culinary repertoire of the Old World.

The tomato is a cooling fruit that peaks in late Summer, when we need it most. There are four parts to a tomato: the outer skin, the fruit wall, the inner pith, and the liquid gel in the center with the seeds. The tomato’s juiciest part is by far the liquid sacs around the seeds in the middle, which is most often removed in professional kitchens in favor of the fleshy fruit wall. We cannot imagine getting rid of the pleasantly acidic juice of the tomato, one of the most cooling and refreshing flavors of Summer.

Tomatoes are rich in vitamins A and C, and they are excellent for maintaining healthy hearts and low blood pressure. In fact, if you cut open a tomato across its horizontal midsection you will see four chambers of seed sacs. This is a direct replica of the human heart. Food has an innate ability to tell you what it is good for, and tomatoes tell you they are good for your cardiovascular system. Their red color is a sigh of lycopene, a powerful anti-oxidant that has proven strong in preventing multiple types of cancers. We also like to think that their smooth exterior also shows how soft one’s skin can be if they are eaten regularly.

Tomatoes are best eaten in the late Summer, early Fall when they are at their peak. As a culture, we have become used to having access to foods all year round, regardless of the seasons. Tomatoes should not be a dietary staple in the Winter, unless they are canned. Tomatoes shipped from abroad are picked green and treated with ethylene gas to turn red, which is obviously not the healthiest way to eat. Tomatoes are best eaten with barely any seasoning besides salt and maybe some olive oil and vinegar. They are well balanced by mild dairy products, like yogurt and mozzarella cheese, but should be avoided by people with arthritis, as they are calcium inhibitors.

Nearly 5,000 years ago, the Emperor Shen Nung ruled over China. Said to be the father of Chinese Agriculture, Shen Nung would roam about the countryside, collecting and observing plants. In order to gain a better understanding of potential dietary or medicinal purposes of the plants he found, he would perform a test – the plant would first be fed to a dog, followed by a servant and if neither were killed or made sick from consumption, then Shen Nung ruled the plant fit for his own palate. Peas were among the plants to pass the emperor’s test and from that point forward, peas became a major part of ancient Chinese culinary culture.

Peas also appeared in a number of other ancient cultures – there are records indicating their prevalence in Egypt as well as other Mediterranean cultures. In Norse Mythology, the god Thor sent peas to the earth as a means of punishing the Norse people. According to the myth, Thor sent dragons to drop peas throughout the land but once the peas germinated, the people continued to grow and consume peas as a means of paying tribute to Thor. Whatever their place in mythology, early civilizations only knew to eat peas in a dried state (which is more like today’s split peas); it wasn’t until the 16th century that people began to eat peas in their fresh state. King Louis XIV popularized peas once he began requesting them on menus at Versailles. In the 19th century, peas undertook a much different though equally important role as test subjects for scientist George Mendel’s studies in genetics.

Peas themselves are actually the seeds of the legume Pisum sativum and are actually botanically characterized as fruits – though they are almost always regarded and prepared as vegetables. The casing that the peas are housed in is referred to as a pod. When it comes to growing peas, the plant itself thrives best in cool weather, however different varieties of peas maintain different seasons. The Garden Pea, which is the oldest and most common variety, is available from spring through early winter. Snow Peas, which were first developed in Holland in the 17th Century, can be found year round in many Asian grocery stores, though their more national growing cycle tends to mimic that of the Garden Pea. Sugar Snap Peas, on the other hand, are the newest of the pea varieties. A biological mix of the Snow and Garden Peas, Sugar Snap Peas were first developed in the 1970's and are typically found from late spring to early summer. You may also commonly find split peas, which are simply dried, peeled and split versions of Garden Peas and they are typically found in either green or yellow varieties.

Peas are more than just pleasing for your palate: they promote bone health not only because they contain Vitamin K, but also because they contain folic acid and vitamin B6, both of which also aid in cardiovascular well-being. Peas also contain a number of nutrients that are helpful in providing a boost of energy, including vitamins B1, B2, B3 and C, as well as iron. You’ll find peas in a number of our recipes, including Dancing Goddess Dumplings in Pea and Spinach Broth, Spring Sprout Pate and Afghan Split Peas with Apples and Cinnamon.

Initially utilized for medicinal purgative purposes, rhubarb originated in Western Chinese culture some 5000 years ago, with crops extending into Tibet, Mongolia and Siberia. It wasn’t until the plant was introduced to ancient Greek civilization that it got its name; the plant grew along the Rha, the Greek’s name for the Volga River. Since the plant grew mainly in non-Greek (Barbarian) territory, it came to be known as rah barbarum, which was eventually shortened to rhubarb. For thousands of years, rhubarb existed only as a medical laxative. It wasn’t until the 18th century that rhubarb began being grown for culinary purposes. It gained popularity in England around the same time that sugar became more widely available, making it an ideal filling for tarts or sweets.

There are varying accounts of how rhubarb came to be cultivated in America. Benjamin Franklin is credited to some degree for this feat, yet it is believed that Franklin was only responsible for introducing medicinal rhubarb to the English colonies, as the edible variety of the plant was already being grown there. Despite its presence in American crops for the latter part of the 18th Century, rhubarb didn’t become a part of American cooking until the 1820s. Like the English before them, New Englanders were also fond of rhubarb pies and tarts, not to mention rhubarb wine.

Because of its prevalence in sweets and pastries, rhubarb (nicknamed “pieplant”) is often falsely assumed to be a fruit when it is, in fact, a vegetable. Vibrantly red in color, its long, leaf-topped stalks closely resemble celery, although its closest relative is actually buckwheat. In both cooking and medicinal uses, its important to note that only the stalk of the rhubarb is fit for human consumption – the leaves contain oxaclic acid, which is highly toxic to humans. Rhubarb is a perennial plant, which grows best in cool climates, thus making northern United States and Canada ideal regions for rhubarb cultivation. Although greenhouse-grown rhubarb can be found almost year round, field-grown rhubarb’s season begins in April and generally lasts until June. It’s best to store rhubarb in plastic bags in the refrigerator, where they should keep about 3-5 days. Rhubarb can also be frozen, as well as canned to lengthen its culinary lifespan.

Although it tends to be very tart, rhubarb’s flavor is mellowed with the addition of sugar – as is evidenced in its aforementioned popularity in pastries and pies. Rhubarb also works well in a variety of savory dishes, plus it has a variety of health benefits beyond its traditional fiber-based purgative qualities. Dried rhubarb can be found at many health food stores and can be helpful in lowering cholesterol, battling heartburn, calming hot flashes and fighting bacterial infections. Fresh rhubarb is an excellent source of vitamins A and C, and potassium, so it’s as welcome an addition to your healthy diet as it is to your kitchen. Try it out for yourself in this recipe for Tigris Trout with Rhubarb Tahini Sauce.

The eggplant finds its origins in India and China, where a 5th century document on agriculture records its existence. It was not until three centuries later that this botanically classified berry found its way westward to Spain. It took a long time for the eggplant to gain acceptance in the West, mainly because of its relation to the poisonous weed known as Deadly Nightshade. Because of this, and because eggplants contain sickening toxins when they have not yet ripened, they long held a reputation for causing madness. In fact, it was not until the end of the 19th century that their consumption became commonplace in America.

Even now, the United States is only the 20th largest producer of eggplant. The leading countries are still China and India, which put out 55% and 28% of the world’s eggplant, respectively. This is in part due to the fact that eggplants need tropical or subtropical climates to grow successfully. (If you choose to grow your own, make sure it is transplanted after the risk of cold temperatures has passed.)

If you don’t have your own garden, the best place to buy eggplant is at a local farmer’s market. They are in season from mid-summer through October. Deciding which eggplant is best can be a tricky process; one thing to look for is the stem. If it is a bright green, it indicates a ripe and ready eggplant. Another telling way to find out if an eggplant is ripe is by softly pressing into its skin, which will quickly bounce back if it is fresh.

When it comes to cooking, the possibilities with eggplants are almost endless. With such a rich and globe-spanning history, it is featured in an array of different country’s cuisines, baked, boiled, fried, grilled, or sautéed. Eggplant makes an appearance on dinner tables all throughout Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas. Eggplants are so popular in Turkey, for example, that the nation boasts of over forty dishes of different variations. So go to your local farmers' market, get some beautiful deep purple eggplant and experiment with your own creation!

By Anastasia Dyakovskaya