Cherry tomato

{{short description|Tomato variety}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2023}} {{About||the 2008 South Korean film|Cherry Tomato (film)}} {{infraspeciesbox | name = Cherry tomato | image = Tomates cerises Luc Viatour.jpg | image_alt = | image_caption = | status = | status_system = | status_ref = {{citation needed|date=December 2024}} | genus = Solanum | species = lycopersicum | varietas = cerasiforme | authority = (Dunal) D.M.Spooner, G.J.Anderson & R.K.Jansen<ref>{{cite web |url=http://eol.org/pages/1247714/hierarchy_entries/57254418/names/synonyms |title=Garden Tomato Synonyms (Solanum lycopersicum var. cerasiforme as Classified by NCBI Taxonomy) |website=Encyclopedia of Life |date=29 July 2014 |access-date=22 August 2014 |archive-date=16 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180316023609/http://eol.org/pages/1247714/hierarchy_entries/57254418/names/synonyms |url-status=live }}</ref> | synonyms = *''Lycopersicon lycopersicum'' var. ''cerasiforme'' *''Lycopersicon esculentum'' var. ''cerasiforme'' | synonyms_ref = <ref name="NHM">{{cite web |quote=Molecular phylogenetic analyses have established that the formerly segregate genera ''Lycopersicon'', ''Cyphomandra'', ''Normania'', and ''Triguera'' are nested within ''Solanum'', and all species of these four genera have been transferred to ''Solanum'' |url=http://solanaceaesource.org/content/phylogeny-0 |title=Phylogeny}}</ref> }} thumb|Yellow cherry tomatoes thumb|Freshly picked cherry tomatoes in Auroville, India

The '''cherry tomato''' is a type of small round tomato believed to be an intermediate genetic admixture between wild currant-type tomatoes and domesticated garden tomatoes.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Comparative sequencing in the genus Lycopersicon. Implications for the evolution of fruit size in the domestication of cultivated tomatoes |pmid=12242247 |volume=162 |pmc=1462239 |journal=Genetics |pages=365–79 |last1=Nesbitt |first1=TC |last2=Tanksley |first2=SD| year=2002 |issue=1 |doi=10.1093/genetics/162.1.365 }}</ref> Cherry tomatoes range in size from a thumbtip up to the size of a golf ball, and can range from spherical to slightly oblong in shape. Although usually red, other colours such as orange, yellow, green, purple, and black also exist.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/cherry_tomatoes |title=Food – Cherry tomatoes recipes |publisher=BBC |access-date=24 October 2014 |archive-date=8 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220608173023/https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/cherry_tomatoes |url-status=live}}</ref> Those shaped like an oblong share characteristics with plum tomatoes and are known as ''grape tomatoes''. The cherry tomato is regarded as a botanical variety of the cultivated berry, ''Solanum lycopersicum'' var. ''cerasiforme''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://nomen.at/Lycopersicon%20esculentum%20var.%20cerasiforme |title=Lycopersicon esculentum var. cerasiforme, nomen.at |website=Nomen.at |access-date=24 October 2014 |archive-date=22 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110322180040/http://nomen.at/Lycopersicon%20esculentum%20var.%20cerasiforme |url-status=live}}</ref>

== History ==

=== Origins and relationship to wild tomatoes === Cherry tomatoes are closely related to the wild ancestral forms of all cultivated tomatoes.<ref>{{Cite web |script-title=zh:番茄果实早期发育的分子生理机制研究进展 |url=https://www.chinbullbotany.com/CN/lexeme/showArticleByLexeme.do?articleID=29421 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250523175825/https://www.chinbullbotany.com/CN/lexeme/showArticleByLexeme.do?articleID=29421 |archive-date=2025-05-23 |access-date=2026-03-18 |website=Chinbullbotany |trans-title=Research progress on the molecular physiological mechanisms of early fruit development in tomatoes}}</ref> Wild tomatoes (''Solanum pimpinellifolium'' and related species) naturally produce small, cherry-sized fruits and are native to western South America, particularly the Andes region and coastal areas of Peru, Ecuador, and northern Chile.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Why Is This Wild, Pea-Sized Tomato So Important? |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/why-wild-tiny-pimp-tomato-so-important-180955911/ |website=Smithsonian |date=22 July 2015 |last=Estabrook |first=Barry |access-date=27 April 2026}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Solanum pimpinellifolium |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:820511-1#:~:text=The%20native%20range%20of%20this,primarily%20in%20the%20subtropical%20biome. |website=Kew Gardens |access-date=27 April 2026}}</ref> These wild species represent the genetic foundation from which all modern tomatoes, both large and small, were developed.

=== Domestication and spread === The tomato is thought to have been first domesticated in the Puebla-Veracruz region of Mexico, likely arriving from South America in the form of small-fruited wild or semi-domesticated varieties that resembled modern cherry tomatoes.<ref name="tomato-origins">{{cite journal |title=The tomato genome sequence provides insights into fleshy fruit evolution |journal=Nature |year=2012}}</ref> Over thousands of years, indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica selectively bred these small tomatoes, with some lineages developed into larger varieties while others maintained the small fruit size characteristic of cherry tomatoes.

=== Early European documentation === The first direct reference to cherry tomatoes in European literature appears in 1623, in ''Pinax theatri botanici'' (English: Illustrated exposition of plants) by Swiss botanist Caspar Bauhin, which contains descriptions and classifications of approximately six thousand species. In a section on "Solanum" (nightshades), Bauhin wrote of a variety called ''Solanum racemosum cerasoru[m] forma'', which translates to "Solanum [that is] full of clusters racemosum, in the form (shape) of cherries".<ref>{{cite book |author=Caspar Bauhin |title=Pinax theatri botanici |year=1623}}</ref>

=== Modern popularity and development === Cherry tomatoes have been popular in the United States since at least 1919.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Popular cherry tomatoes |magazine=Garden Magazine |year=1919}}</ref> Recipes using cherry tomatoes can be found in articles dating back to 1967.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Cherry tomato recipes |magazine=Better Homes and Gardens |year=1967}}</ref>

=== Commercial breeding advances === In the 1970s, Israeli agricultural scientists developed commercial novelty varieties of cherry tomatoes, building upon existing cherry tomato genetics to create cultivars better suited for modern commercial production and export.<ref name="israeli-development">{{cite journal |title=Development of cherry tomato varieties in Israel |journal=HortScience |year=1985}}</ref> Nathan Goldenberg approached Professor Nahum Kedar and Professor Haim Rabinowitch from the Faculty of Agriculture at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem with the idea of developing enhanced cherry tomato varieties.<ref name="hebrew-university">{{cite news |title=Cherry tomato success story |newspaper=The Jerusalem Post |year=1995}}</ref>

The researchers were already working on developing tomato varieties suitable for cultivation in hot climates, including regular tomato varieties with extended shelf life, as part of Israeli government agricultural initiatives.<ref name="hebrew-university"/> The cherry tomato varieties they developed featured different flavor profiles, extended shelf life, and characteristics more favorable to commercial packaging and transport. These varieties gained popularity in the late 1980s, with sales peaking in 1992.<ref name="hebrew-university"/> This work helped advance plant breeding techniques and agricultural technology, building upon the long history of cherry tomato cultivation rather than representing the original development of cherry tomatoes as a crop type.

In the following decades, numerous other improved varieties were developed by researchers worldwide, and the popularity of cherry tomatoes continued to rise globally.<ref name="modern-breeding">{{cite journal |title=Modern cherry tomato breeding |journal=Euphytica |year=2010}}</ref>

== Cultivars ==

=== Heritage and traditional varieties === Many cherry tomato varieties maintain close genetic relationships to ancestral small-fruited types:

* '''Matt's Wild Cherry''' – A variety that closely resembles wild tomato species, with very small red fruits * '''Red Currant''' – Extremely small fruits, similar to wild ''S. pimpinellifolium'' * '''Yellow Currant''' – Small yellow fruits on vigorous indeterminate plants

=== Modern hybrid varieties === Contemporary commercial cherry tomatoes are often products of modern plant breeding, selected for specific traits:

* '''Super Sweet 100''' – A popular hybrid cultivar in the United States, resistant to both Fusarium and Verticillium wilt, known for extremely sweet flavor and prolific production * '''Sungold''' – An indeterminate hybrid known for vigorous early-yielding plants and distinctive orange fruits with exceptional sweetness * '''Sweet Million''' – High-yielding variety with good disease resistance and uniform red fruits

=== Specialty and colored varieties === Modern breeding has produced cherry tomatoes in various colors and with unique characteristics:

* '''Black Cherry''' – Dark purple-red fruits with complex flavor * '''Green Grape''' – Green when ripe, with tangy-sweet flavor * '''Chocolate Cherry''' – Dark brown fruits with rich, smoky flavor * '''Selke Biodynamic''' – Named after Margrit Selke, developed for biodynamic agriculture<ref>{{cite web |last1=Smith |first1=Patricia |last2=Rotheraine |first2=L.A. |title=Biodynamics Brings the Gift of Learning to the Garden |url=https://rotheraine.com/gift_of_learning.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117070431/https://rotheraine.com/gift_of_learning.htm |archive-date=17 January 2013 |access-date=22 August 2014 |website=rotheraine.com}} An interview which originally appeared in ''Applied Biodynamics'', the newsletter of the Josephine Porter Institute, Issue No. 51, Winter 2005–2006.The earliest version archived 18 June 2006 from Rotheraine.com, without the 2012 photo.</ref>

=== Traditional vs. modern varieties === While cherry tomatoes as a fruit type are ancient, many commercial varieties sold today are products of modern plant breeding. Some contemporary varieties are derived from large tomato varieties that were bred back toward smaller fruit size, while others maintain closer genetic relationships to traditional small-fruited varieties. Heritage varieties typically show greater genetic diversity and often display characteristics closer to wild ancestors, while modern hybrids are frequently selected for uniformity, extended shelf life, disease resistance, and specific commercial traits such as shipping durability and consistent ripening.

==Nutrition== {{nutritionalvalue | name=Cherry tomatoes, raw | water=92.2 g | kJ=76 | protein=0.9 g | fat=0 g | carbs=5.2 g | fiber=1.7 g | sugars=3.5 g | calcium_mg=14 | iron_mg=0.63 | magnesium_mg=14 | phosphorus_mg=33 | potassium_mg=260 | manganese_mg=0.12 | sodium_mg=6 | zinc_mg=0.16 | vitC_mg=26 | thiamin_mg=0 | riboflavin_mg=0 | niacin_mg=0.17 | pantothenic_mg=0 | vitB6_mg=0.02 | folate_ug=14 | vitA_ug=42 | betacarotene_ug=250 | vitE_mg=0.2 | vitK_ug= | note=[https://afcd.foodstandards.gov.au/fooddetails.aspx?PFKID=F009190 Link to Database entry] | source_usda=1 }}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons category-inline|Solanum lycopersicum var. cerasiforme}} {{Tomatoes}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q6540634}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cherry Tomato}} Category:Hybrid tomato cultivars Category:Miniature versions of vegetables Category:Fruits originating in South America Category:Crops originating from North America Category:Italian cuisine