How a small 1934 college experiment completely changed our relationship with tomatoes

Long before they appeared on hamburgers across the country, the tomato actually had quite a naughty history—or one that was perceived as naughty, anyway. The tomato was initially shown to European colonists in the 1500s by the long-established Aztec civilization in Mexico–it was originally called “Xitomatl” in the native Aztec language of Nahuatl–but because the color red was associated with hedonism and sexuality in Europe at the time, people were hesitant to get too close. They were also concerned it was an aphrodisiac whose purposes would have been strictly condemned by the Catholic Church unless used explicitly for conception.

The tomato’s bad reputation continued this way for centuries, until it then extended into murder. Because tomatoes are acidic, and many plates of royalty were made from lead-heavy pewter, the combination created lead poisoning for many who ate tomatoes off of these plates, National Geographicshared. The tomato had been framed as a “poison apple,” but this reputation changed in part because, as Italian immigrants moved westward in the 19th century, they were among those who brought tomatoes with them as a beloved ingredient. This love later extended across ethnicities and across the U.S., and in particular to a college in New Jersey.

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Rutgers University became so invested in tomatoes that their New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station eventually developed their own “Rutgers Tomato,” which became known as “the tomato that went to college.” By then, of course, the tomato’s life was considered significantly less naughty.

The life of the Rutgers Tomato began in 1934, when Lyman G. Schermerhorn, Professor of Vegetable Gardening, wanted to create “a tomato with firm ripe flesh, a deep red color throughout and just the right mix of sweet and tart taste,” according to Rutgers. It soon became the favorite tomato of massive food brands like Campbell’s and Heinz for the next 30 years–indeed it was Campbell’s that christened their ingredient, the Rutgers, as “the tomato that went to college” in one of their advertisements. As Rutgers shared, if you ate Campbell’s Tomato Soup or Heinz Tomato Ketchup at this time, you were without a doubt eating the fruits, if you will, of Rutgers’ labor.

As The New York Timesquoted Rutgers plant biology professor Thomas Orton, when the Rutgers was released it became “the tomato that made the Jersey tomato reputation…it was a groundbreaking tomato that redefined what a tomato should be and was the most popular variety in the world.” The tomato had seemed lost to many generations of crossbreeding in 2010, but the university started to bring it back. The process took six years, but the Rutgers returned in 2016 with a big celebration for Rutgers’s 250th anniversary–indeed, the tomato would now be called the “Rutgers 250.”

Throughout the next several decades, the university would continue to develop new tomatoes, in addition to hosting an annual “Open House and Tomato Tasting” on their campus. Held again this summer on August 27, the event offers a tomato farm wagon tour and an opportunity to taste some 50 different kinds of tomatoes.

What a wild ride for the round red fruit, from forbidden aphrodisiac to murder weapon to beloved child of the Garden State. And now that it’s summer, you can find them wherever fine tomatoes are sold.