[Sca-cooks] Tomatoes

[Diane & Micheal Reid]

Greetings
 So after several dozens of e-mails the question still stands. Are Tomatoes period or not?
 Personaly I agree with they are most likely period for late Spain and Italy but not for the Northern Europe. Which I believe was first quoted by Master Caridoc, pardon my spelling or at least the first time I read the idea. Based on the simple facts, tomatoes were present in Spain and Italy, they were being studied, and there are accounts of several recipees involving them, regardless of how limited. Soldiers were reported as eating them in the new world, odds are they ate them at home  or at least tried to. The lack of recipees in this case is the mystery not the tomatoe itself. 
 Would I include them for a demo no why at the very best tomatoes are end of period ( depending on your view of period) introduction into European cusine. Even then they are limited in distribution to southern Europe and just making inroads into Northern at best. 
 The very best we can say, we know they were present, we know they were under study, we know sodiers ate them in the new world, we know a couple of recipees exist for them. But we lack concrete proof of ussage so we can not answer one way or another  absolutely
 Would I use them in a feast yes if I was doing late period Spanish or Italian . Why simple they do not exist in Europe until after the voyages of discovery.
 The problem is not the tomatoe it is where do you draw the line on its ussage. Which is why I ask for a date on the recipee?
 Cealian