The tomato — why the world's most emotional vegetable is often just a water bomb today

There's a moment almost everyone knows. You bite into a tomato from the market or your own garden in midsummer—and something happens. That taste. Intense, sweet, slightly acidic, full-bodied. You hear yourself say, "This is how a tomato should taste." In Austria, we call them "Paradeiser."

And then, in winter, you buy a tomato at the supermarket. Beautifully red, uniformly shaped, flawless. You bite into it—and there's nothing. Water. A faint hint of tomato, perhaps. But that moment? Completely missing.

This is no coincidence. And it's not nostalgia.
It's biochemistry.

What's in a real tomato

The tomato is one of the most nutrient-rich vegetables we know—if it is indeed nutrient-rich. That means they could be among the most nutrient-rich vegetables.

Tomatoes contain vitamins A, B1, C, E, and niacin. They also contain important minerals such as potassium, magnesium, calcium, and trace elements. Additionally, they offer secondary plant compounds—substances produced in plants specifically for their needs, for example, as defenses against predators or as sunscreens.

100 grams of fresh tomatoes provide 20 milligrams of vitamin C, which is one-fifth of the daily requirement.
But the star among all tomato ingredients is a substance with an unusual name: Lycopene.

Lycopene — the red treasure of the tomato

Lycopene is a secondary plant compound that gives the tomato its red color and is primarily found in the skin. The concentration is particularly high in very ripe fruits.

What lycopene can do in the body is fascinating. Lycopene is discussed in medicine as a potential active ingredient for the prevention of prostate carcinomas. Researchers compared 17 studies that investigated the influence of tomato consumption on the development of prostate cancer—and concluded that tomatoes can indeed play a role in prevention.

Lycopene can also counteract bone wear and tear. Researchers in Portugal supplemented cell cultures with lycopene—the results suggest that the carotenoid has an anabolic effect on bone metabolism.

And something else surprising: A study by the Rowett Research Institute in Aberdeen showed that tomato extract can reduce platelet aggregation by up to 30 percent—and can even be more effective than aspirin, which many elderly people take as a blood thinner to prevent heart attacks and strokes.

In a study by the University of Witten-Herdecke, subjects who consumed increased amounts of tomato paste even showed reduced sensitivity to sunburn.

But—and this is crucial—since red fruits contain many other health-promoting substances besides lycopene, such as vitamins, other carotenoids, and flavonoids, all of which jointly contribute to a healthier life, scientists do not consider the sole intake of lycopene as a dietary supplement to be a good idea.

This means: Lycopene from real, ripe, nutrient-rich tomatoes works. Lycopene in pill form does not. The tomato is more than the sum of its parts.

A tip almost no one knows — lycopene through heating

Here lies one of the most fascinating surprises of tomato biochemistry: processed products often contain more available lycopene because heating and crushing make it more accessible and it is present in a more concentrated form in the final product.

This means: A good homemade tomato sauce from ripe tomatoes is, in some respects, more nutritious than a raw tomato. Cooking makes lycopene more absorbable for the body.

Another tip: Lycopene is fat-soluble. A dash of olive oil in tomato sauce—or simply olive oil over fresh tomatoes—significantly increases the absorption of lycopene in the body.

Why supermarket tomatoes taste so different

"If a tomato's water content is very high and it has a pale color, it's likely to taste less intense—and also to contain fewer nutrients than a freshly harvested, ripe tomato would."

The "eternal tomato"—a fruit that lasts significantly longer—was the result of years of crossbreeding. The end result is a tomato with very little flavor. The industry is as uninterested in nutrient content as it is in taste. The new crossbreeds are generally not tested for vitamins, minerals, and the like.

Tomatoes only develop sweetness and aroma shortly before ripening—and their flavor is best preserved when stored at 12 to 16 degrees Celsius. A tomato that is harvested unripe, transported for weeks, and stored in the refrigerator simply never had the chance to become what it could be.

In addition, there's the dilution effect: Many studies show that our food today contains only a fraction of the minerals it did 60 years ago. Today's values are 50 to 70 percent lower than back then. This depends partly on the varieties, but mostly on the soil.

Organic is good — but not automatically nutrient-rich

A widespread misconception: organic tomato equals nutrient-rich tomato.

A study at the Universidade Federal do Ceará showed that organic fruits contained up to 57 percent more vitamin C and had a polyphenol content that was a whopping 139 percent higher compared to conventionally grown ones.

That sounds impressive—and it is. But it also highlights the real problem: the difference isn't in the label. It's in the soil. In the mineral supply. In how the plant grows and ripens.

Organically grown tomatoes had significantly higher values for all 35 investigated ingredients than conventionally grown ones. But even in the organic sector, there are huge differences—depending on the soil structure, how the plant is supplied, and how it ripens.

The decisive criterion is not organic or conventional. It is nutrient density. And that is measurable.

The Brix value for tomatoes — what good numbers mean

The Brix value allows for a rough measurement of the fruit's sugar and mineral content. And for tomatoes, it is particularly indicative—because sugar and lycopene go hand in hand. A tomato that produces more sugar has a plant behind it that has undergone intense photosynthesis. And precisely this intense photosynthesis also produces more lycopene, more vitamin C, and more polyphenols.

What are good Brix values for tomatoes?

A tomato with 10 °Brix not only tastes twice as intense as one with 5 °Brix. It also contains significantly more lycopene, more vitamin C, more potassium—because the plant behind it has undergone more photosynthesis and incorporated more minerals.

The intense red color is no coincidence, but a visible sign: The lycopene concentration is particularly high in very ripe fruits. Deep, rich red is a sign of quality—and an indicator of Brix.

What a tomato really needs to become nutrient-rich

The answer lies in the soil and in the plant simultaneously.

A tomato plant that is optimally supplied with calcium builds more stable cell walls. Stronger cells retain more water—but as cell water, not as empty dilution water. The result is a firmer, more aromatic, more nutrient-rich fruit.

Calcium also regulates the opening and closing of leaf pores—and thus CO₂ absorption for photosynthesis. More photosynthesis means more sugar. More sugar means more energy for the formation of lycopene and other secondary plant compounds.

At the same time, the tomato needs a lively soil environment with active microorganisms that make minerals available to plants—potassium, magnesium, trace elements that directly contribute to the fruit's nutrient density.

And it needs time. Time on the vine to ripen. A tomato that is harvested unripe simply never had the chance to fully develop its lycopene.

What this means for us as consumers

Buy ripe and regional. A tomato from the farmer's market in August is a different tomato than one from Spain in February. Ripening on the vine cannot be replaced by anything.

Pay attention to color and scent. A deep red, intensely fragrant tomato has more lycopene. The scent comes from volatile aromatic compounds produced by the same plant that also produces lycopene. If it smells—it's nutrient-rich.

Eat the peel. Lycopene is mainly found in the peel. Peeling tomatoes means losing a large part of the most valuable ingredient.

Cook them too. Raw tomatoes are wonderful—but a good tomato sauce with olive oil makes lycopene more available to the body. Both have their place.

Ask for the Brix value. Still unusual—but it's changing. More and more conscious producers measure their tomatoes with a refractometer. A tomato with 10 °Brix is a different world than one with 4 °Brix.

What this means for you as a farmer or home gardener

The tomato reacts more strongly to soil care and mineral supply than almost any other vegetable—and makes the improvement most clearly visible and palpable.

A tomato plant supplied with mineral foliar fertilizer based on activated calcite shows a darker, more intense leaf color after just a few days. The fruits become more uniform, ripen earlier—and what is crucial: they taste like tomatoes.

The studies by the Oekomineral Group led by Dr. Ost prove this: Treated tomato plants develop more chloroplasts, a higher polyphenol content in the tissue, and a measurable increase in dry matter content. Less water in the fruit. More of everything else.

In addition, there's the protective effect: Vital tomato plants, well supplied with calcium, show significantly higher resistance to fungal diseases like the dreaded late blight—because stable cell walls and well-regulated leaf pores secure the entry point through which fungi enter the plant.

Those who additionally build up their tomato soil with paramagnetic basalt and introduce AM+PLUS microorganisms into the soil life create the basis for a tomato that lives up to the promise of its red color.

The tomato as a measuring instrument

Among all vegetables, the tomato is perhaps the most sensitive measuring instrument for soil health. It immediately shows what works—and what doesn't. A pale, watery tomato is the most honest signal a soil can send.

A deep red, intense, aromatic tomato with a high Brix value is the most beautiful result that well-executed soil care can produce.
And it is the most emotional food in the world. No other vegetable evokes more memories. No other vegetable makes the difference between industrial production and genuine agriculture so immediately palpable.

Once you've tasted a tomato with 10 °Brix, you'll never buy the pale version again.

 

You can find more about nutrient-rich foods and the Brix value as a quality measure in our article on nutrient density and why vegetables today have fewer nutrients than in the past.

 

 

 

What paramagnetic basalt, zeolite, and AM+PLUS microorganisms have to do with the nutrient density of your harvest — we explain this in our blog about microorganisms and soil health.

 

 

 

Sources: AOK Magazin, Tomatoes and Lycopene | Verbraucherzentrale, Lycopene | Zentrum der Gesundheit, Tomatoes | Planet Wissen, Tomatoes | Rowett Research Institute Aberdeen, Tomato extract and platelets 2006 | Universidade Federal do Ceará, Organic Tomatoes Vitamin C Study | Pflanzenforschung.de, Organic vs. Conventional | Permakultur Scheuerhof, Brix Value Tomato | Oekomineral Group / Tribo Technologies, Technical Studies Plantos Verde 2011–2014