GOOD STUFF TO KNOW ABOUT TOMATOES
We hand pick your tomatoes ever so slightly unripe with the intention that they will ripen up for you over the course of the week. But how do you tell when your tomatoes are ready to eat? Unfortunately, it’s not always by color. We grow a LOT of different varieties of tomatoes (15 in all) of all sorts of colors other than red. Some, like the little Sungold cherry tomatoes, turn a rich orange color when they are ripe. Others, like the Green Zebra turn a yellowish-green. Obviously, it can be kind of hard to tell when to eat heirloom tomatoes like these. The way you can tell is by touch, of course! You know a tomato is ready to eat when it is slightly soft to the touch. My advice to you is to store your tomatoes on your counter (and NOT in your fridge) and give them a gentle squeeze every day. When one has some give, there’s a very good chance it’s ready to go. I hope this helps.
STORAGE TIPS
Whatever you do, do NOT refrigerate your tomatoes! Absolutely, positively, don’t do it! Store them on your counter. They are beautiful and fun to look at and you can keep an eye on them to see when they are ready to eat (see above).
RECIPES
Cooking & Eating Tips
There’s so much you can do with tomatoes, but my favorite is to simply slice them up, sprinkle with salt and chow down. I also like to cut up some fresh mozzarella and top with a basil leaf. YUM! A favorite tomato dish of my dad’s is simply chop up some tomatoes and basil, coat with olive oil, salt and pepper and eat with a hunk of dark buttered bread.
Here’s some of our thoughts on the tomatoes we grow:
Cherokee Purple: A widely popular heirloom variety among farmers and home gardeners alike! This ancient beauty often wins tomato taste tests. Try it for yourself and see what you think!
Green Zebra: These stunning green striped tomatoes are sweet, tangy and juicy. Green zebras may be small, but they are packed with flavor.
Martha Washington: This pretty-in-pink tomato is a wonderful slicing tomato that boasts rich flavor and a melt-in-your mouth texture.
Orange Strawberry: These golden, almost heart shaped, tomatoes are juicy and super sweet. While they vary in size, they are always tasty!
Sungolds: We love these little orange cherry tomatoes. So sweet and versatile. If you get sick of them, try roasting them and then freezing to use in sauces later on in life. We like to can them and use in bloody mary mixes for winter time Sunday brunches. They also dehydrate very well – just cut in half and stick on dehydrator.
Red Slicers: Your classic red tomato. We grow a few different types and they have all been selected for the very best flavor.
Orange Slicer: Also known as a yellow slicer, they are a great slicing tomato with just the right about of juicy sweetness.
Roma (paste): What is typically used in pasta sauces. They have a much lower water content so also work great in salsas, but let’s face it – they are also perfectly good for salads, sandwiches and the like.
