The Tomato Was Publicly Proven Safe to Eat

By the early 1800s many Americans still treated the tomato with deep suspicion. As a member of the nightshade family, it was widely assumed to be toxic, fit for ornament but not the dinner plate.

According to a much-loved legend, Colonel Robert Gibbon Johnson set out to end that fear. On June 28, 1820, the gentleman farmer is said to have climbed the steps of the courthouse in Salem, New Jersey, and eaten a basket of tomatoes before a curious crowd. Onlookers reportedly expected him to collapse. He simply kept eating, and survived.

The colonel ate the tomato and lived, and the “poison” fruit slowly won a place at the American table.

The truth is murkier. Historians note that no contemporary record of the demonstration exists, and the dramatic tale was not written down until roughly a century later. Tomatoes were, in fact, already being grown and eaten in the United States before 1820. Still, the story endures because it captures a real shift: within a generation, the once-feared tomato became a kitchen staple.