NPR recently interviewed Arthur Allen about his book, Ripe: The Search For The Perfect Tomato. Tomatoes were once considered poisonous but now are regular staples on dinner plates across America…

Arthur Allen tells the story of the tomato’s redemption, popularization and eventual modification in his book,Ripe: The Search For The Perfect Tomato.

The tomato’s versatility wore down its detractors bit by bit, Allen tells NPR’s Jackie Lyden. “There’s so many different ways that you can eat it,” he says.

It first caught on with peasants in the Mediterranean, where it grows very well, and eventually the protests of doctors who considered it poisonous “gave way to good sense and taste.”

Read or listen to the full interview here.