Talk to me about tomatoes

[nancylebov]

First excellent tomato of the season!

It was a large round (completely conventional shape) orange tomato. The first one that smelled good. I bought it at a gourmet shop, but I've bought heirloom tomatoes there that weren't anything special.

I've found that tomatoes which smell good will be good, but tomatoes with no smell *might* be good.

Big enough tor two tomato-eating sessions, and still a good bit left.

To be fair, I've had some good cherry tomatoes this year, but they weren't this good.

I suspect we've hit the heirloom tomato apocalypse I've been fearing-- the development of tomatoes which *look* like heirloom tomatoes but don't taste like anything special.

Also, is it worth cooking with the best tomatoes, or are they best appreciated by being eaten raw?

How have your tomato experiences been?

Other fruits and vegetables?

Comments

[noelfigart]

AS a Virginian, my favorite tomato is the Hanover tomato -- grown in Hanover County, VA. It has the perfect combination of tangy and sweet, with flesh that is firm and not mealy with a deep red color and a scent... I can only call it a greenstem scent, though I know that isn't necessarily descriptive.

The problem with the Hanover tomato is that it's not a variety so much as taking its flavor from the soil and climate of Hanover county.

My favorite way to eat one is to pick it directly from the field, wash it off with the hose and salt it with the salt shaker I've snuck from the table and put in my pocket, then eat it like one would an apple -- right there outside in the field.

My second favorite way to eat a Hanover tomato is simply sliced and salted.

My third favorite is in a BLT that is made with home-grown lettuce, toasted whole wheat bread and a bit of Dukes (and only Dukes) mayonnaise.

Before I went on a ketogenic diet and generally started avoiding tomatoes, I rarely bothered with grocery store tomatoes unless I'd intended to use them for cooking. I wanted the real thing from the field or a farmer's stand.

https://everydaygoodthinking.com/2015/08/06/food-focus-the-allure-of-virginias-hanover-tomatoes/

[siderea]

My sweetie has two tomato plants covered in green tomatoes that are juuuuuust beginning to change color. I will report back as the situation develops.

[redbird]

I try to get specific/identified heirloom tomatoes, not just "heirloom." On Friday I came home from the farmers market with a Cherokee purple tomato.

I have a (relatively short) list of tomato varieties I tried in Seattle, courtesy of one farmer who labeled all his tomatoes; I've been able to find a few of them here. If you can get it, I recommend Paul Robeson.

I haven't tried cooking any of those.

[seasonoftowers]

The tomatopocalypse sounds terrifying.

If you're finding few enough good tomatoes that the question of "is it worth cooking with them, or are they best eaten raw" doesn't have the answer of "dear ghods I can't possibly eat all of these before they go bad, cooktime it is" then the answer is eat them raw.

I like them in salads - buffalo mozzarella caprese is a classic, if you have more solid tomatos, but juicier ones work best chopped, salted and mixed with chopped onion and a bit of oil. Sop the juices with bread, tastes amazing. Feta, tomato and cucumber sandwiches on buttered toast were also a favoured breakfast before I moved on my own.