Share |

Heirloom Tomatoes

"Variety is the very spice of life, that gives it all its flavor"
-William Cowper

Why Heirlooms?

Over the years supermarket tomatoes have been breed to have a uniformed red color and an average size and weight. While there beauty has appealed to our eyes it has left our palettes unsatisfied with the same boring tastes over and over again. Fortunately there is a cure- heirloom varieties. Heirloom tomatoes are grown from seeds passed down through several generations, that have produced the same variety of tomatoes. Normal features for heirlooms include many unusual colors and shapes and may have odd-looking ridges and bumpy surfaces. They provide a greater diversity in taste and coloring

Selecting

Look for bright color and smooth, unblemished skin. Tomatoes should feel heavy for their size and be soft and yield to the touch. Smell is also an excellent indicator of ripeness; unripe tomatoes have no aroma. Size has no correlation with quality—large ones can be just as delicious as small ones. Heirlooms arrive in the summer, but you can find some greenhouse grown beauties throughout the year.  Orange and yellow tomatoes taste sweetest because they are lowest in acid; dark red and black tomatoes usually have a good balance between sugar and acid, while green and white tomatoes will taste more tart because of their high acid content.

Storing

Tomatoes should be stored at room temperature and then eaten within a few days once ripe. Hasten ripening by placing them in a paper bag with a banana or an apple. It is generally recommended not to refrigerate tomatoes at all.

 

Tomato Varieties

Roma

Roma tomatoes are the traditional paste tomatoes. With their dense and meaty flesh, low moisture content, and few seeds they are the ideal tomatoes for processing into sauces and pastes. Roma tomatoes have a cylindrical or plum shape, and feel heavy for their size. Their colors range from pink to orange to deep red. Veeroma, La Roma, and Sam Marzano are among the many popular Roma varieties.

Parson's Homegrown Hydro-Tomato

Tomatoes are probably the most popular hydroponic vegetable, and are usually very successful. Hydroponic tomatoes can ripen as much as 8 weeks earlier and produce more fruit than soil-planted plants. They also have superior nutrition and appearance, tender skin, firm flesh, delightful aroma and flavor, and surprisingly, they keep very well.

 

Orange & Yellow

These bright and attractive orange-yellow tomatoes, when sliced, have a rich aroma that will remind you of carefree summers past. The meaty fruit have few seeds. Wonderful for sauces and cooking.

Mavel Stripe

The Marvel Stripe heirloom tomato variety offers a mild, sweet and somewhat fruity tomato flavor. They are the same color as pineapple tomatoes but are named for the red stripes that run across its golden background and pleated skin. Inside, it has deep orange and yellow marbling. Similar to a Zapotec tomato, these juicy, thin-skinned tomatoes are the largest of the bi-colored tomatoes and can weigh in at one to two pounds and grow to four inches in diameter. This tomato is best eaten fresh, and lightly seasoned. Create a tomato relish using fresh basil, chopped red onion, diced jalapeno, minced garlic, and a splash of balsamic vinegar. Grill breads with tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil and some salt

Brandywines- Red, Vintage, & Yellow

Brandywine, which dates back to 1885, is the heirloom tomato standard. One taste and you’ll be enchanted by its superb flavor and luscious shade of red-pink. The large, beefsteak-shaped fruits grow on unusually upright, potato-leaved plants. The fruits set one or two per cluster and ripen late—and are worth the wait. Brandywine's qualities really shine when it develops an incredible fine, sweet flavor.

Cherokee Purple

Unique dusty rose color. Flavor rivals Brandywine, extremely sweet.

Russo Bruno

A European favorite, Rosso Bruno Tomatoes are distinct, delicious and truly original. With a rich, dark color, superior texture and a delicious sweet, tart taste -- they freshen up any salad or sandwich. Hand-picked and vine-ripened they are available year-round and will become a quick favorite with your family.

Green Zebra

Beautiful chartreuse with deep lime-green stripes, very attractive. Flesh is bright green and very rich tasting, sweet with a sharp bite to it.

Campari

These shiny red tomatoes are aromatic and deliciously sweet and juicy. Campari is a variety of tomato, noted for its juiciness, high sugar level, low acidity, and lack of mealiness. Camparis are deep red and larger than a cherry tomato, but smaller and rounder than a plum tomato.

Sugar Plum

The Sugar Plum tomato has been rated the best tasting grape tomato in many taste tests. The firm fruit has a pleasing texture and sweetness.

Sungold

Rapidly becoming the most popular cherry tomato of all time--an amazing feat for a non-red variety. But when you taste the sweet-tart flavor you'll know why. The beautiful golden-orange fruits are borne in large clusters. The flavor develops early, so this little tomato is great for snacking a week before full maturity, when it becomes very sweet and delicious.

Sweeties

Cherry tomatoes bursting with sugary flavor. The scarlet, cherry-sized fruits are produced in long pendulous clusters right up to frost. Grow on stakes or a fence.

Zima

Little orange gems the size of grapes. They’re super sweet, making them perfect for snacking and salads.

Gold Nugget

Gold Nugget attains an unusually rich, sweet flavor when ripe. Its fruit is sweet, flavorful and crack resistant.  A colorful addition to salads and relish trays.

Grape

Grape tomatoes have a sweet flavor, a firm texture, and less juice, so there's no need to worry about any squirting when you bite into one. Averaging between one-half and three-quarters of an inch in length, they're perfect for popping whole into your mouth like candy, which is probably why kids adore them too. They're low in calories and high in vitamin C, potassium, antioxidants, and lycopene, so what's not to like? When buying, look for bright, shiny skin and firm flesh.