The Aztecs domesticated the tomatillo and the fruit dates back to at least 800 B.C. The Aztec word tomatl means something "round and plump". Europeans that came to the New World and documented the local foods often confused the food names. According to Sophie Coe we are never quite sure which tomato writers were referring to whether it be the tomato or the tomatillo. The Aztec word for tomato (as we know the fruit) is xitomatl and the husk tomato (tomatillo) was call miltomatl. Europeans frequently shortened both names to tomatl and therein lies the confusion. Ms. Coe suggests that in most cases references were in fact to the tomatillo not what we know today as a tomato.
The confusion is carried on today. In many areas of Mexico the domesticated tomatillo is called tomate and the wild version called miltomate and what we know as tomato is called jitomate.
The tomatillo never gained in popularity with Europeans and it was the tomato that was taken to Italy where it grew well in the Mediterranean climate. Today, the tomatillo is common in the U.S. as the Hispanic population has increased.
