Maxim Tomato

Maxim Tomatoes are glowing, red tomatoes with large black "M"s in the center. They are found in most Kirby games and restore all of Kirby's health when eaten or inhaled. They are said to be Kirby's favorite food.

The foe Poppy Bros. Jr. is sometimes seen riding on a Maxim Tomato instead of an apple. If Kirby attacks Poppy with anything other than Inhale (or an ability that uses the inhale technique, like Throw), he will destroy the Maxim Tomato. Inhale will suck the Poppy Bros. Jr. off and allow Kirby to pick up the Maxim Tomato.

In Kirby's Epic Yarn, a Metamato (a tomato that resembles a Maxim Tomato) is noticebly worn on a hat by the main villian Yin-Yarn, but is mistakenly eaten by Kirby in the opening scene. This angers the yarn magician and prompts him to suck the pink hero into the sock around his neck, starting Kirby's adventures in Patch Land.

In Kirby Mass Attack, a Maxim Tomato gives 100 points on the fruit meter. Since it takes 100 points to fill the meter, it is guaranteed that the player will get a new Kirby and/or a 10,000 point bonus when eating one. Also, in the Kirby Quest sub-game, the first three Chapters' bonus levels involve getting a Maxim Tomato from a certain character - Chef Kawasaki in the first chapter, then Max Flexer, then Chef Shiitake. If the Kirby(s) successfully beat any of these characters, they will get the Maxim Tomato, which heals any hurt Kirbys.

In Super Smash Bros.
The Maxim Tomato is a recovery item in all the Super Smash Bros. games.

In the original Super Smash Bros., the Maxim Tomato healed a character of 100% of their damage percentage. In Super Smash Bros. Melee and Brawl, the Tomato only heals 50% of damage, due to the inclusion of the Heart Container recovery item from the Legend of Zelda series that also heals 100% (or all damage if the player is playing Boss Battles or All Star Mode in Super Smash Bros. Brawl) of the player's health. If a character is attacked while using the Maxim Tomato, it will "absorb" the damage. For example, if an attack does 30% damage, the tomato will absorb it and the user only recovers 20% damage. Like all other Smash Bros. items, it appears as a Trophy in both Melee and Brawl. It also appears as a sticker where the design from Squeak Squad is used.

Trivia

 * The instruction book for Kirby's Dream Land mistranslates it as Bag of Magic Food.
 * Maxim Tomatoes don't appear in Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, but are replaced by watermelons, which are Kirby's favorite food in that continuity.
 * The Maxim Tomato is drawn by Paint Roller in the Paint Panic sub-game.