It’s one of life’s simple pleasures, biting into a perfectly-ripened tomato. Eaten on the spot and still warm from the sun, a tomato dripping with its juices so succulent and sweet, it is the season’s best reward.
This legendary vegetable (botanically it’s really a fruit but now classified as a vegetable) is, without question, one of the most popular foods in the world. And the peak of the season affords us an abundance of hedonistic pleasure when devouring a perripe tomato.
In our quest to seize our prize, over 40 million Americans are growing their own as an alternative to the bland sameness of hybrid tomatoes. The local farmers markets, Sonoma’s Patch self-serve garden on Second Street East, and roadside stands all yield a vast variety to tantalize the taste buds and tease the eye. Lucky us, we’ve re-discovered the heirloom tomato, satisfying all of our senses with superior flavor, color, texture and fragrance.
Heirlooms are the old-fashioned varieties nearly forgotten in corporate agriculture’s desire to create a more commercially viable tomato. Unlike the supermarket hybrids, heirlooms are flavor-focused not process driven. The seeds of heirlooms, passed down through the generations, preserve the characteristics of the parent plant from which it was harvested.
The finest-tasting tomato is one that has been ripened naturally in the sun and on the vine - ideally slowly so as to fully develop its flavor. (You’ll find “vine-ripened” tomatoes at the supermarket that still have the vine attached to further the ripening process. Factory farmed, they bear little resemblance to what the proud gardener knows as a tomato.)
Limitless in its culinary uses, the perfect heirloom tomato salad is truly a sum of its parts. One only need ideally-ripened tomatoes, a drizzle of fruity olive oil, a shake of salt and freshly ground black pepper. A salad so satisfyingly delicious, it needs no vinegar since the ripe tomatoes carry their own perfect measure of acidity. Or slice the meaty beefsteak and layer with fresh mozzarella, a dash of aged balsamic vinegar, and a chiffonade of fresh basil.
Choose tomatoes that feel heavy for their size and flesh that is firm but gives slightly when pressed gently. Blemishes are harmless but the fruit should smell loamy and “green.” And never refrigerate, which adversely affects the taste and texture.
To fully enjoy summer’s reward, invest in a good quality serrated knife and a “tomato shark” (looks like a melon baller with teeth), an inexpensive tool indispensable for coring tomatoes.
The time is ripe. The season is now. Harvest and enjoy!
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