Since we overcame our fear of being attacked by killer tomatoes, Americans have fallen in love with them. By the 1920s, a “hot tomato” was slang for an attractive woman, and though the term is no longer current, most Americans recognize it. Accolades continue today. The tomato is the state vegetable of New Jersey, and Arkansas has it both ways: the tomato is both the state fruit and the state vegetable. The USDA reports that each of us consumes close to 20 pounds of fresh tomatoes every year — and for the lucky amongst us, many of those tomatoes are homegrown.