One of the most colourful and versatile foods in our diet is the tomato.
Tomatoes have found their way into many of South Africa’s favourite foods, and we can feel great about eating them.
Each bite of a tomato is packed with nutrients that are good for our heart and bone health and have anti-cancer benefits as well.
Available year-round in fresh and preserved forms, there is no shortage of uses for this versatile “vegetable”.
There are as many ways to eat tomatoes as there are varieties. They can be used for any meal or simply as a snack.
While the rise in the price of tomatoes in South Africa sent consumers into overdrive earlier this year, South Africans were more shocked at how much they cost in Japan.
@sassybutstillcassie Let me know what items cost in your country ! #groceryshopping #groceryshoppinginjapan #japanliving #costofliving #southafrican #southafricanexpat #expat #tiktoksa ♬ Live music flute guitar percussion smart and bright Gypsy Swing Jazz - ALTERNATIVE CHAMELEON
This comes after user @Carolinerathabe tweeted a picture of tomatoes at a SUPERSPAR store costing about R20 a pack of four with the caption “Yooh guys (broken heart emojis)”.
Tweeps flooded the comment section with memes and sad remarks.
Yooh guy’s💔💔 pic.twitter.com/j2enphkMpu
— Caroline (@Carolinerathabe) April 16, 2023
But after seeing how much fruit costs in Japan, many South African consumers remarked that we underestimate organic products here in SA.
How do they know how much tomatoes cost in Japan?
A South African expat who lives in Japan went shopping for food and documented everything in a TikTok video.
The captivating video showed the sticker costs for various food items contrasted with SA. The clip showed how expensive fruit is in Japan as she bought a bag of naartjies for R70 and tomatoes for R54. Other items, such as meat and certain things like asparagus and salmon, were a bit more reasonable.
One user wrote: “Those naartjies cost R10 a bag at the robot here in SA. Damn, I will definitely just smell them every time I go to the shop there but won’t buy them.”
A second user wrote: “I’d probably have to eat salmon and asparagus only since they’re the cheapest.”
A third commented: “Everything is cheaper except for the naartjies and the tomatoes. Guess what I won’t be adding to my basket.”
You can read the latest Food digimag here.