Part 4/13:
The Spanish were the first Europeans to document the tomato, and in 1544, Italian writer Pietro Andrea Mattioli referred to it as pomi d'oro, or "golden apples," noting their yellow hue. Early European descriptions often labeled the tomato as mala orea (bad oreos) or love apples, reflecting both fascination and suspicion. Many Europeans believed it to be a distant relative of eggplants or part of the nightshade family—which includes some notably poisonous plants like belladonna—contributing to fears of toxicity.