It is difficult to imagine Italian cuisine without tomatoes, but the fruit is actually native to the Americas. Spanish conquistadors brought the first tomatoes to Europe in the 16th century. Initially, Italians called them 'pomodoro' (golden apple), suggesting the first varieties were yellow. For nearly two centuries, tomatoes were grown only as ornamental plants because they were suspected of being poisonous. This fear was partially due to their membership in the nightshade family and the fact that wealthy Europeans used pewter plates with high lead content; the acidity of the tomato would leach lead from the plate, causing lead poisoning. It wasn't until the late 18th century in Naples that tomatoes became a staple ingredient for the poor, eventually leading to the creation of modern pizza and pasta sauces.