Tomato stand-alone or multiple-bay greenhouses is on the increase, providing fruit during those times of the year when field-grown fruit is not readily available. Smaller sized fruit (cherry and grape), or cluster tomatoes (fruit-on-the-vine) are the fruit of choice for the large commercial greenhouse operators while the beefsteak varieties are the choice of owner-operator growers. Hydroponic technique is often used in hostile growing environments, as well as high-density plantings. To facilitate transportation and storage, tomatoes are often picked unripe (green) and ripened in storage with ethylene. Unripe tomatoes are firm. As they ripen they soften until reaching the ripe state where
Plum cake leavened with yeast. In New England, large election cakes weighing around would traditionally be served while people waited for election results. It has been stated that the first published election cake recipe appeared in 1796 in "American Cookery". Plum cake recipes in the fruitcake style appeared in early cookbooks in the Southern United States, and did not actually call for plums. After 1830 plum cake was often referred to as fruit cake or black cake. In 1885, in a description of plum cake that sounds like plum pudding, it was described as "mucilaginous" - a solid, dark-colored, thick cake with