What is a Tomatillo?

As a member of the nightshade family, the tomatillo (Physalis philadelphica), also known as the husk tomato, is related to the red tomatoes we're all used to seeing, but doesn't taste or look anything like a tomato. The tomatillo originally came from Meso-America and was grown by the Aztec Indians in Guatemala and Mexico, but is now grown all over the western continents. Tomatillos are small, round and green with a thin, papery husk covering the fruit and are about an inch or two in size. They are a fruit, not a vegetable, just the same as tomatoes, even though we think of tomatoes as vegetables.

In Meso-America, is was a staple used in many native dishes, but once Europeans arrived, it was taken back to Europe, especially Spain, and cultivated there. However, the red tomato gained popularity primarily because it was more resistant to rot and disease, which made the tomatillo less popular. Interestingly, the word tomato comes from the Aztec words xitomatl for the red tomato and miltomatl for the tomatillo. It was the Europeans who combined the words into tomatl, which became a word that encompassed any fruit with seeds that had a fleshy covering.

Even though the tomatillo lost some degree of favor in Europe, it has always maintained its popularity in Mexican food. It is used in salsas or combined with spices and chilis to give extra flavor to food, or to tone down hot chili salsa. Tomatillos themselves are not hot. When they are used in salsa, it is called salsa verde, which simply means green sauce. They can be cooked or chopped up raw.

These days, tomatillos are grown more than ever before because more and more people are enjoying Mexican food and tomatillos give that authentic flavor. When bought fresh, tomatillos will last refrigerated for a couple of weeks if left in their husk and can even be frozen whole or sliced with the husks removed.

When cooking with tomatillos, you must remove the papery husk and rinse off and dry the fruit. Then they can be sliced or diced without removing any seeds, just like with red tomatoes. An interesting fact is that the tomatillo also has medicinal uses such as to reduce fevers. Growing tomatillos isn't especially difficult because they need normal watering in regular soil and are even somewhat drought tolerant. The fruit will mature and be ready for eating around 65 days, when the husks begin to separate. If the fruit turns yellow, it's a bit beyond the normal harvesting time.

So, if you want an authentic flavor to your Mexican food dishes or salsas, buy a few tomatillos and experiment. You won't be disappointed!