Have you ever wondered why Gustiamo is so adamant about canned and jarred tomatoes ? Not only are they delicious and harvested at the peak of ripeness but they are more nutritious than fresh ones.
We were just listening to some of the archived episodes of the Food + Science = Victory! Podcast on Freakonomics Radio. One episode really made us stop what we were doing and listen at full volume. In this riveting episode, Stephen Dubner and J. Kenji López-Alt talk with investigative journalist Jo Robinson about how eating preserved tomatoes is actually better for us than eating fresh tomatoes.
As Robinson says: “Canned tomatoes are actually better for us than a fresh, organic, locally harvested, heirloom tomato. Because the nutrient in tomatoes, which is proving to be supportive of heart-health, is called lycopene. And when lycopene is heated, it is transformed into a form that we find easier to absorb. And the best source of lycopene in the entire store is tomato paste. And you know people don’t like to hear that. How could that be? But in fact, science supports it.”
Cool, right? Think about all the nutrients you are getting next time you eat your canned and jarred tomatoes on your pasta, pizza and stews!