Calories in Tomatoes, grape

What makes tomatoes so powerful?

Grape tomatoes emerged in the late 1990s as a commercial solution to the delicate nature of cherry tomatoes. While cherry tomatoes tend to split, leak water, and bruise easily during transport, grape tomatoes were bred to have a thicker skin and a meatier, less watery interior—traits inherited from their roma tomato parentage. Their oblong shape and thicker skin allow them to survive long-distance shipping while maintaining a shelf life that significantly outlasts their rounder cousins. The variety that popularized this category was the Santa F1 hybrid, which gained massive traction in grocery stores because it offered the concentrated sweetness of a cherry tomato without the logistical headaches. From a botanical standpoint, they are still true fruits—specifically berries—developing from the ovary of a single flower. Their vibrant red color comes from lycopene, a carotenoid pigment whose bioavailability actually increases when the tomatoes are exposed to heat, meaning cooking grape tomatoes makes their antioxidants easier for your body to absorb than eating them raw.