pomodoro

Although it's hard to imagine Italian cuisine without them, tomatoes didn't arrive in Italy until 1596. There are two possible explanations for their curious name in Italian (pomodoro means 'golden apple'); one is that in the 16th century, a round red fruit would, by the definitions of the day, be called a golden apple.

The second is that tomatillos (Physalis philadelphica) from Mexico which are also members of the nightshade family, were introduced at the same time as tomatoes. Tomatillos never caught on in Italy, but the name was remembered as something Italians didn't like.

Because of their poisonous nightshade kin, tomatoes (like potatoes, peppers and aubergines) were not an immediate success. They first caught on around Parma, and only later in the south, notably in Naples (chef Vincenzo Corrado is recorded experimenting with them in the 1770s for the Bourbon court).

And it was in Naples where their special Italian destiny as a pizza sauce and as pasta al pomodoro would be realized in the Cucina Casareccia in Dialetto Napoletano (Home Cooking in Neapolitan Dialect) by Ippolito Cavalcanti, Duke of Buonvicino, published in 1839.