# Does Middle Eastern cuisine use a lot of tomatoes? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [February 20, 2026, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-middle-eastern-cuisine-use-a-lot-of-tomatoes/1027853 "2026-02-20T17:16:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-middle-eastern-cuisine-use-a-lot-of-tomatoes/1027853/1 "2026-02-20T17:16:31Z")
I was at Walmart last week and they had a giant table of Roma tomatoes for a low price, like 69 cents a pound. Two middle aged, Middle East gents rushed over and filled 2 t-shirt shopping bags (not the little produce bags) with the tomatoes. A few minutes later I saw two more doing the same thing. Hmmm… ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-middle-eastern-cuisine-use-a-lot-of-tomatoes/1027853/2 "2026-02-20T17:19:49Z")
At that price, who cares? 😉 Googling tells me that, though tomatoes are a relatively recent addition to the cuisine in nations in the Levant, they’re commonly used now in a number of dishes. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-middle-eastern-cuisine-use-a-lot-of-tomatoes/1027853/3 "2026-02-20T17:27:17Z")
I think “Middle Eastern Cuisine” is too broad to draw many generalities from. It’s a great big area with many varying cultures and local produce and food and cooking styles to draw from so you get a wide variety of cuisine from that area. Like saying Mediterranean cuisine (even harder to pin down). Certainly tomatoes are a versatile fruit that have been adopted by cuisines worldwide so not surprising it shows up almost everywhere these days. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-middle-eastern-cuisine-use-a-lot-of-tomatoes/1027853/4 "2026-02-20T17:30:30Z")
Afaik, there aren’t any tomato-based dishes on Middle Eastern menus, but they can be used, like in fattoush. And I’ve had shawarma and falafel wraps with tomatoes on them. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-middle-eastern-cuisine-use-a-lot-of-tomatoes/1027853/5 "2026-02-20T17:32:28Z")
There are a lot of dishes like shakshuka which are made with tomatoes, peppers and onions that are popular in the region, especially for breakfast. When I worked in the West Bank, every Thursday was a pot luck breakfast for the staff and someone always brought a tomato based dish that you ate with fresh bread. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-middle-eastern-cuisine-use-a-lot-of-tomatoes/1027853/6 "2026-02-20T17:37:43Z")
Israeli salad is usually tomato-based: > **[Israeli salad](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_salad)** > > Israeli salad (Hebrew: סָלָט יְרָקוֹת יִשְׂרְאֵלִי, romanized: salat yerakot yisra'eli, lit. 'Israeli vegetable salad') is a chopped salad of finely diced tomato, onion, cucumber, and bell or chili peppers. It has been described as the "most well-known national dish of Israel", and is a standard accompaniment to most Israeli meals. Salads following similar recipes, with different names, are widespread and popular throughout the Eastern Mediterranean. > It was adopted by Jewish immigrants to the L... ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-middle-eastern-cuisine-use-a-lot-of-tomatoes/1027853/7 "2026-02-20T17:41:49Z")
Plenty of tomatoes in Israel when I worked there, and certainly shakshuka in Egypt. You may have seen people who work at the same restaurant, or the first set called their friends, or they’re doing a shakshuka-based fundraiser. Dunno if you can generalize to “Middle Eastern Cuisine” from what you observed. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-middle-eastern-cuisine-use-a-lot-of-tomatoes/1027853/8 "2026-02-20T18:06:17Z")
I understand cherry tomatoes, roasted or raw, are extremely popular in Israel. ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-middle-eastern-cuisine-use-a-lot-of-tomatoes/1027853/9 "2026-02-20T18:10:42Z")
Tomatoes are such a useful sauce base. Saute up some onions and/or garlic, add tomatos and render it down, and you have the start of a sauce that can go in any number of culinary traditions… ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-middle-eastern-cuisine-use-a-lot-of-tomatoes/1027853/10 "2026-02-20T23:52:35Z")
The restaurant sounds plausible. There are several nearby. I do know that many of the people in the area are Lebanese. Maybe they will try Middle East fusion cuisine. Anyone for kielbasi shawarma? ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2026, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-middle-eastern-cuisine-use-a-lot-of-tomatoes/1027853/11 "2026-02-21T00:35:13Z")
Tomatoes are one of the food items that only existed in one hemisphere before the Columbian exchange. Before Columbus’s voyage from Spain to the Americas, there were no tomatoes in the Americas. So tomatoes could only have been found in Middle Eastern food after 1492. In fact, they were brought to the eastern hemisphere in the 1540s. ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2026, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-middle-eastern-cuisine-use-a-lot-of-tomatoes/1027853/12 "2026-02-21T00:39:06Z")
“there were no tomatoes in the Americas.” I thought tomatoes originated in South America ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2026, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-middle-eastern-cuisine-use-a-lot-of-tomatoes/1027853/13 "2026-02-21T00:45:14Z")
I suspect that that was a typo; @Wendell_Wagner probably meant “there were no tomatoes in _Europe_.” ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2026, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-middle-eastern-cuisine-use-a-lot-of-tomatoes/1027853/14 "2026-02-21T03:40:29Z")
Yeah, I meant to write, “There were no tomatoes outside of the Americas.” ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2026, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-middle-eastern-cuisine-use-a-lot-of-tomatoes/1027853/15 "2026-02-21T04:07:23Z")
And the streets are paved with cheese. ---
**Author:** ![Happytree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happytree/32/3555_2.png) [@Happytree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happytree)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2026, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-middle-eastern-cuisine-use-a-lot-of-tomatoes/1027853/16 "2026-02-21T05:35:30Z")
The Afghani guys at my work have tomato slices with their lunch most days. They eat what looks like a deconstructed gyro: flatbread, tomato, onion, yogurt, lemon, pickle, and meat or chickpeas. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2026, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-middle-eastern-cuisine-use-a-lot-of-tomatoes/1027853/17 "2026-02-21T07:07:42Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Before Columbus’s voyage from Spain to the Americas, there were no tomatoes in the Americas I think you’ve got that backwards - there were no tomatoes in the Mideast before the Columbian exchange. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2026, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-middle-eastern-cuisine-use-a-lot-of-tomatoes/1027853/18 "2026-02-21T07:51:59Z")
As a Westerner who lived in Cairo for nearly six years, and in Southeast Asia, Africa, and the Pacific for quite a few more, I find the question interesting but maybe too vague to answer robustly. Kind of like inquiring - “does European cuisine use a lot of basil?” Umm… yes in some cases, no in others? The question is too broad to answer with a useful degree of specificity. The relevant cuisine I can _sort_ of answer (without pretensions to real expertise) is Egyptian food. To start with, we need to define “ a lot.” In my limited experience, Egyptian food absolutely uses tomatoes, especially in salad and in bean dishes. Tomatoes were present in the cooking classes I enjoyed there (taken from both Egyptian citizens and non-local professional chefs). But I’m not sure the use of tomatoes is so significant that rises to the level of “a lot.” Fava beans, aish (flat bread), olive oil, nuts, sugar, yogurt, and probably other items I’m forgetting off the top of my head, were certainly essential. Tomatoes, AFAIK, were considered delicious and worth using, but did not rise to the level of “OMG there is no salt/flour in the house … no way can I cook unless I get some.” ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2026, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-middle-eastern-cuisine-use-a-lot-of-tomatoes/1027853/19 "2026-02-21T07:58:31Z")
Yes, as I and kenobi\_65 both corrected above. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2026, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-middle-eastern-cuisine-use-a-lot-of-tomatoes/1027853/20 "2026-02-21T15:10:46Z")
Of course, the Middle Eastern folks you saw were in the US, and might well have developed a taste for some foods that aren’t common in the land of their ancestry. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-middle-eastern-cuisine-use-a-lot-of-tomatoes/1027853.md?page=2)