Pick a Tomato – or Two!
One of the simple pleasures of my life is biting into a red-ripe, fresh-from-the-vine tomato. The tomatoes I’m talking about don’t look like the hothouse, slightly anemic tomatoes you buy in the grocery store. If you have ever picked a sun-warmed tomato from a vine, brushed off the dirt and bit into it, the juice running over your chin, you know exactly what I mean…it’s a little taste of heaven.
Around here, almost everyone has a tomato plant (or 10) in their backyard and there’s an unofficial race to have ripe fruit before the 4th of July. People have their favorites – Better Boy, Big Boy, Beefsteak – and then there’s the argument about heirloom vs. hybrids. The truth is, the worst I ever had was excellent.
Here in South, tomatoes are kinda like Bubba’s shrimp in Forrest Gump – there’s sliced tomatoes, tomato sandwiches, tomato pie, tomato salad, baked tomatoes, stewed tomatoes, fried green tomatoes (that’s for another post), even tomato gravy. We make the most of every moment of tomato season and then we can and freeze them to make soups and stews in the winter. A pot of chili in December made from tomatoes you canned in July from your garden will make your tongue slap your brains out!
Choosing the BEST Tomatoes
You want a well-colored tomato. Those with too much yellow or green were likely pulled green and didn’t ripen on the vine to develop the sweetness and texture of a good tomato. Rest it in your palm – it should feel heavy for the size, kinda like a baseball. Smell it- a flavorful tomato will have a strong, sweet, earthy smell.
Finding a homegrown tomato this time of year is easy. Check out local farmers and roadside stands. Heck, your cousin Howard probably has more than he can ever use. Just tell him you are in desperate need of a tomato biscuit!
