All You Need to Know About Tomatoes

Tomatoes—fruit or vegetable? Although related to potatoes, eggplant and chili peppers, and eaten as a veggie in North America, tomatoes are actually a slightly acid fruit—technically called a berry. Next to onions, tomatoes are one of the most widely used fresh ingredients. What would cooking be without them? Along with garlic and olive oil, tomatoes are included in most Italian, Spanish and Provencal dishes. Tomatoes are native to western South America but were slow to come on the scene in some other parts of the world, perhaps due to very poisonous plant relatives, as well as the fact that the leaves of the tomato plant are very toxic. The English grew them for many years as ornamental plants before ever using them as food. Tomatoes did not even appear on the scene in Italy until the eighteenth century and it wasn’t until the mid-nineteenth century that they were grown extensively and widely eaten in northern Europe.

Tomato Tips

Tomatoes should not be stored in the refrigerator unless you have a ripe one that you don’t plan to use within a day or two. In that case keep the tomato in the warmest part of your refrigerator (usually the butter compartment), if it will fit. Bring tomato back to room temperature before serving in order to get full flavor.

Typically sometime in July tomatoes begin to ripen, but by mid August they are coming on strong and if you are fortunate enough to have some in your garden or other ways to get home grown ones, you’re in luck. The only problem I have is that once I’ve eaten one of these, it’s hard to go back to eating tomatoes from the store. If you don’t have a way to get home-grown tomatoes you may find store prices drastically reduced about now because of the plentiful supply this time of year.

Many different varieties (there are thousands!) of tomatoes have been developed over the years. Are some better than others, or better suited for different purposes? Actually it’s quite simple—it really seems to come down to personal tastes and preferences. Different folks use different varieties in similar recipes. So let taste and convenience (in size, etc.) be your guide.

Varieties of Tomatoes

There are countless varieties of tomatoes—most stores will carry about half a dozen different ones. Tomatoes are most typically red but can be green, orange or yellow and as large as 10 cm or as small as your thumbnail. There are lots of different shapes too from rather square, to round, to oblong. No matter what the variety, as mentioned last week, home-grown are the best! This is because when tomatoes are allowed to ripen on the vine, their full flavor can develop. Those you buy at the store were picked green. Your second best bet for flavor is buying tomatoes that have been grown locally.

Sometimes purchasing store tomatoes means that tomatoes aren’t fully ripe. If a tomato is picked too green it actually will never ripen. Even the green ones should have an aroma, and if they do they will eventually ripen. In the case of a less than ripe tomato, keep it in a brown paper bag, preferably with an apple or banana, until it has a deep color over the entire surface--the green gone (unless it’s the green variety of course). Overripe tomatoes that are free of mold and decay, are excellent to use in soups. When recipes require that you “peel” a tomato the easiest way to do it is to plunge the fruit into a pot of boiling water. Leave it for only about 30 seconds. Remove and put under cold water to cool and then the peel should slide off easily using a paring knife.

Confused by all the varieties?

Tomato Types

• Standard Red Tomato(also called Round or Salad Tomatoes): Very versatile, this kind of tomato is used by people from most cultures and can be juiced, cooked, sliced, eaten whole, etc. Should be flavorful, meaty and juicy. These are the common tomatoes found in grocery stores year round. Add a pinch of sugar and season well when cooking to overcome any lack of flavor due to being picked green.
• Beefsteak Tomato: Can grow very large and are deep red or orange in color. Because they are so flavorful they are good for salads.
• Cherry Tomatoes: These small tomatoes are particularly sweet and flavorful, especially when picked ripe. They used to be the prized treasure of gardeners, but have now become widely available. Typically they are more expensive than the standard tomato but worth it when wanting a taste treat for your salad. Unfortunately they can crack easily when fully ripe.
• Grape Tomato: Usually smaller than the cherry tomato, and firmer also so that they don’t crack as easily, these tomatoes also make excellent additions to salads since they are very sweet.
• Plum tomatoes: Also a small variety, these are less sweet than grape tomatoes, but also much less likely to crack than cherry tomatoes (or grape). They have fewer seeds than most tomatoes and are recommended for cooking.
• Yellow tomatoes: These can be round, plum or cherry sized, and have a standard red tomato flavor. The little yellow pear variety doesn’t typically crack when ripe.
• Roma Tomatoes: This variety has been bred for good cooked flavor and has a high solids content. They are typically the type used commercially to make tomato paste, ketchup, thick spaghetti sauce and salsa, where excess juice is not an asset.

Why Eat Tomatoes

Why eat tomatoes? Fresh tomatoes are a delicious source of vitamin C, but perhaps more importantly, you should eat tomatoes because they are one of the best sources of lycopene, a carotenoid with cancer-fighting properties. Preliminary research suggests that lycopene may fight heart disease as well. Americans eat a lot of tomatoes in processed form (sauce, soup, stew, chili, juice) and in this case, unusually enough, it is more healthful cooked than raw. When cooked, tomatoes become more concentrated and thus a more concentrated source of lycopene is produced. Also, your body absorbs more lycopene from cooked or processed tomatoes, especially when the tomatoes are cooked with a little oil. Raw tomatoes with a drizzle of olive oil also enhances lycopene absorption.

In the late eighties we saw the emergence of sun-dried tomatoes, packaged in plastic pouches or packed in oil. They are actually dehydrated plum tomatoes, dried to intensify flavor and for preservation. They can add an interesting flavor to certain dishes, but usually used sparingly.

More than one tomato—that’s an understatement!