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Because this is Hacker News, the discussion would be incomplete without a link to the Supreme Court case Nix v. Hedden[1]. After the Tariff Act of 1883 taxed v
by ath0 7y ago
Because this is Hacker News, the discussion would be incomplete without a link to the Supreme Court case Nix v. Hedden[1].
After the Tariff Act of 1883 taxed vegetables (but not fruits), produce seller John Nix — no relation to the package manager — sued to get tomatoes classified as a fruit.
The court held that the “common meaning” mattered more than the botanical one:
“Botanically speaking, tomatoes are the fruit of a vine, just as are cucumbers, squashes, beans, and peas. But in the common language of the people, whether sellers or consumers of provisions, all these are vegetables which are grown in kitchen gardens, and which, whether eaten cooked or raw, are, like potatoes, carrots, parsnips, turnips, beets, cauliflower, cabbage, celery, and lettuce, usually served at dinner in, with, or after the soup, fish, or meats which constitute the principal part of the repast, and not, like fruits generally, as dessert.“
If you’re in New York, you can celebrate Nix’s memory by eating at a fancy vegetarian restaurant[2], or, of course, you can just use the package manager or operating system.
[1] https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/149/304/ https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/149/304/ , or see the wikipedia page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nix_v._Hedden https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nix_v._Hedden
[2] http://www.nixny.com/ http://www.nixny.com/
- lhotiuerpoiu 7y agoI eat tomatoes like apples (with salt, I'm not a monster). No kink-shaming please.
- sk0g 7y agoYou eat apples with salt?! Then again, this is an actual thing in India, albeit with _black_ salt, which is more tangy than bitter and salty.
- steverb 7y agoTry a little salt and black pepper on your cantaloupe. It's amazing.
- ojosilva 7y agoCantaloupe with jamón (cured pork ham) for lunch and tostada con aceite y tomate (tomato rubbed on a toast with olive oil) for breakfast are both everyday treats in menus in Spain.
- davidw 7y agoFunny story: my first night in Italy (a country where I would go on to spend years, get married and have kids) they served "prosciutto con melone" - cured ham with cantaloupe at the place I was staying. To this day I love prosciutto, and I like melons, but I can't stand the taste of them together. That first evening there, I was really worried that all I had heard about how good Italian food was maybe not true - perhaps it was all strange things like what they'd just given me?
- stronglikedan 7y agowatermelon too
- UI_at_80x24 7y agoYes watermelon! Not enough people know about this.
- nzmsv 7y agoYou can also pickle watermelon: https://www.myjewishlearning.com/the-nosher/russian-style-pickled-watermelon-is-everything-you-need-this-summer/ https://www.myjewishlearning.com/the-nosher/russian-style-pi...
- davidw 7y agoMy friend from Guadalajara swears by Tajin seasoning on a lot of stuff, including cantaloupes and watermelon and I think kind of everything...
- deaddodo 7y ago
- edgyquant 7y agoI put (kosher) salt on Apples and Watermelon and it is delicious.
- fishnchips 7y agoWhat’s special about kosher salt?
- shliachtx 7y agoIt has larger grains. It is called "kosher" salt because larger grain salt (typically coarser than even typical kosher salt) is used to drain the blood from meat and fowl, a necessary step in rendering it kosher by Jewish law. Edit: basically, it is just coarse salt.
- dannypgh 7y agoIt's a larger crystal, which makes it easier for the salt to pull water out of the watermelon, versus (I'm guessing) just making its way into the watermelon as a dissolved solid. My understanding for the mechanism by which the salt makes the fruit sweeter is by increasing the concentration of sugars in the flesh that's now surrounded by salted water. Kosher salt is named for the application of drawing water from meat (which is itself part of the kosher preparation of meat) so it's not too surprising that the salt is also well suited for drawing water from fruits like watermelon. I use table salt on watermelon and it's great too. I can believe that kosher salt would be better, but I doubt most people would consider the difference immense. But palates vary, so, if you've got both salts around might as well use the bigger crystal.
- davchana 7y agoI carry an apple to work every day with black pepper & salt pouches from Taco Bell, & my american co-workers have asked me why I sprinkle salt on fruit? I explain them we sprinkle salt on apples, banana, guava, pineapple, watermelon, cucumber, tomatoes, onion, oranges and many other things. Black salt is not tangy like lemony, it is just rock salt. Sometimes fruitsalts are salts peppered with ground black pepper and or lemon juice. Black salt on its own is earthly salty like ocean water.
- gramakri 7y agoguava + black salt is an incredible combo. Sadly, it's very hard to get good guava here in bay area. If anyone knows a good place, I am all ears. I love the the green raw guava more than the white-ish ripe ones.
- davchana 7y agoAny Indian Grocery Store in bay area, in Guava season like summer. Some example chain stores are New India Bazar, India Cash & Carry, and many other single store. I sold these all of this last year as a Cashier, and in cheap as Apples.
- davchana 7y agoApart from green raw, white ripe, we also had pinkish ripe guava in India. Eating Guava or chewing Guava leaves helped me in mouth sores when I was a kid.
- stjohnswarts 7y agoSome Americans, particularly in the South, will salt their apple slices. It's not bad, but I prefer them straight. I do like salt on melons though
- globuous 7y agoYes !! Tomate à la croque au sel as we call'em !! First time I ate a tomato like that in the US, my american friends made so much fun of me "yo, no way brooo ! he's eating a tomato like an apple, da'fu !! Weird frenchman !!". I still eat my tomatoes like that every so often, it's so good ! Although I think I end up eating quite a bit of salt when I do that which isn't so good...
- zerkla 7y agoMy Irish auntie also adores a tomato dipped in salt! I haven't been brave enough to try, however.
- UnFleshedOne 7y agoTry tomatoes with mayo, you will never go back :)
- zamadatix 7y agoDumb question but do you take a bite then add salt on the exposed portion as you eat? Or does salt just stick to tomatoes better than I think?
- marzell 7y agoIf it's just large tomatoes, people often cut them into slices and then salt them. Or cube them along with cucumber, or halve them if they are cherry tomatoes
- kljrewpoioepi 7y agoYou add salt as you eat on the exposed portion. You can try putting salt on the initial bite spot, most of it will fall away, a bit will remain though.
- stjohnswarts 7y agoyou take a bite first. Salt obviously won't stick to tomato skin.
- 7y ago
- farisjarrah 7y agoSlice up some green apple and put some balsamic vinegar on it. Super tasty.
- asiachick 7y agoand in South East Asia avocados are eaten as a fruit more than a savory thing like in Mexico. Avocado smoothies are delicious! Also there are tomatoes that are much sweeter than your average USA tomato. In Japan they are called Fruit Tomatoes.
- dv_dt 7y agoThe average US tomato was bred for mass shipping and tastes like wet cardboard. Try an heirloom tomato, or something else less mass produce at a farmers market - they taste completely different.
- Digit-Al 7y agoMy mum grows her own tomatoes and they are absolutely amazing. So lovely and sweet.
- stjohnswarts 7y agoYEah store tomatoes are terrible. I only like the ones I get at the farmers market. They actually have some taste.
- vectorEQ 7y agodingleberries are fruits, they also grown on vines. (hold on the salt)