Tomato in the world and Turkey is one of the vegetables consumed quite a lot. Especially in Turkey, the vast place of tomatoes in vegetable production has triggered the organic tomato cultivation sector with the increase in demand for organic products.
Jr. SousChef’s Organic Tomato Products
Jr. SousChef, the flavor specialist of your kitchen, offers its flavors prepared with organic and good agricultural products without additives to your taste in healthy glass jars aiming to be the indispensable main ingredients of your dishes. The tomatoes used are carefully selected by sorting the products with negative characteristics such as immature, rotten tomatoes by considering the details that are important in terms of quality such as black stain and mold. You can safely use 100% organic seed tomato products such as tomato paste, organic tomato purée, organic tomato juice, fresh tomato bruschetta paste, menemen mixtures, and organic pasta sauces that offer different taste alternatives with small touches, which are produced with organic agricultural principles without being exposed to chemicals such as artificial fertilizer, insecticide, pesticide, and heavy metals.
What is Organic Product?
USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) has set various criteria for products to be called organic. The product must be cultivated in soil free of prohibited substances for three years in order to be considered organic. Most synthetic fertilizers and pesticides are examples of these banned substances. Organic food should also not contain artificial preservatives, colors, or flavors. Product components must be organic, with some minor exceptions.
Tomato’s Arrival in Turkey
The discovery of American tomatoes took place at the end of the 15th century. It arrived in Europe in the 16th century. It first entered the Ottoman cuisine under the name kavata in the 1700s and only green tomatoes were consumed at that time. The change in color from green to red was perceived as a sign of deterioration and was thought to be toxic. The change of these thoughts and the widespread use of red tomatoes took place in the 19th century. These green or red tomatoes are not the most commonly used classic tomatoes today, but smaller tomatoes known as cherry tomatoes. As the use of organic tomatoes became widespread, tomatoes became one of the indispensable foods of Ottoman cuisine and started to be used in many dishes. This enabled the development of different use and storage areas that have come to the present day.
Non-Organic Tomatoes
The rapid increase in the world population and the gradual decrease and insufficiency of arable farmland have led to the need to obtain more yields from less land. This led to a change in the field of agriculture and technological methods started to be used in a short time. The use of technological methods has led to an increase in chemicals such as hormones and additives in products. The lack of competition in the agricultural sector started with the decrease in the quality of the products offered and brought about poor quality and fast production.
More than 30 chemicals are used in tomatoes grown by traditional methods. It is not possible to avoid the chemicals used by peeling the tomato in non-organic tomatoes. Studies have shown that harmful substances used in foods can cause developmental disorders in children, cancer, nervous system, or brain damage in older ages.
Return to Organic Food in Turkey
Organic agriculture has spread in Turkey since 1986. It has become increasingly widespread and has become an alternative for people who want to eat healthy and natural today as of the 1990s.
How to Distinguish Organic Tomatoes?
The focus should be on how to distinguish whether the tomatoes we buy are organic or not rather than the question of where to find organic tomatoes. Because many different tomatoes are sold under the name of organic tomatoes in grocery stores, greengrocer, and markets.
There are a variety of opinions used to have an idea about tomatoes:
- Organic tomatoes if the color of tomatoes is light, not dark red;
- Thick-skinned tomatoes are produced to prevent decay in ripening tomatoes, but organic tomatoes are never thick-skinned;
- When tomatoes are cut in half and gently squeezed, they should not release their seeds, if the seeds are not released, they are organic tomatoes;
Ideas like these do not provide accurate information. Because of climatic conditions and when air conditioning devices are not used in organic greenhouses, conditions such as sprouting, color, and appearance change, white parts inside the tomato may occur. In other words, a sudden drop in the temperatures during the harvest may cause the tomato to stop growing even if organic indigenous tomato seed and organic tomato fertilizer are used; the natural hormones in the tomato can be activated by the re-heating of the air and the germination of its own seeds in the tomato. The idea that seed is not organic tomato seed would be quite wrong in this kind of a situation.
Packaged organic tomato products have the organic agricultural logo, check and certificate institute code, and logo on the product. If the label is not reassuring, the date of manufacture, batch, and certificate number, and certificate organization should be checked. The certificate of the manufacturer and the product should be examined and if necessary, it should be compared to the invoice to be shown upon request. The same applies to organic tomato seedlings.
Benefits of Organic Tomato
Especially organic tomatoes are rich in lycopene, which is one of the strongest antioxidants. It is stated that lycopene not only gives the tomato its red color but also supports the fight against various heart diseases such as hardening of arteries. It is found in many skin products due to its ability to slowing down aging symptoms and its detox effect.
Importance of Organic Fertilizer in Production
Organic fertilizer is a substance that naturally regulates the amount of minerals in the soil so that the plant can receive the substances it needs from the soil. Oxidized residues of nutrients, animal waste, or fossils can be used to obtain organic fertilizer. Jr. SousChef attaches importance to the use of organic fertilizer for organic tomatoes in the production of tomatoes. These fertilizers also provide benefits such as increasing the organic matter level of the soil, regulating the pH value, accelerating the activities of microorganisms and protecting macro and microelements as well as increasing yield and quality. Jr. SousChef understands the value of using organic fertilizer in terms of sustainability as well as healthy and quality organic tomato production.
Jr. SousChef believes that healthy future generations will not be possible with unhealthy foods. Jr. SousChef products are made entirely from organic tomatoes based on respect for nature, sustainable agriculture, and healthy food.
