"heirloom tomato" news and stories

Heirloom tomato salad. Photo: Eric Diesel

If you're lucky enough to live near a farmers market, don't forget to thank your local farmer and gardener for that sparkling-fresh produce, especially those who grow heirloom vegetables and fruits. In addition to growing delicious produce, they're cultivating history, right on the vine.

Though there are some differences of opinion about its exact definition, an heirloom variety of fruit or vegetable is generally agreed to be one that has been cultivated for at least 50 years. Beans are an heirloom veggie ever-growing in popularity, but the food that truly sings of summer is the tomato.

Heirloom tomatoes are beginning to appear in gardens, at roadside stands and lining produce aisles. In honor of the unique flavors and colors of these beauties, beyond the jump is an original recipe for a summer tomato salad: history you can eat. But remember to save some seeds -- preserving them is the least we can do for these species that give so much to us.

Heirlooms may not always present the archetypal tomato in terms of physical appearance, but their bold stripes and unusual shapes have a certain elegance to them, not to mention that they hold the promise of a truly delicious fruit (or vegetable, of you prefer). The Heirloom Tomato Cookbook is a beautifully photographed collection of 50 recipes that all use heirloom tomatoes. The most basic way to enjoy one of these is plain, or with a bit of salt, because the flavor of the tomato itself is so wonderful. But even the most ardent tomato fan can get bored with plain tomatoes, so the recipes for gazpacho, salsas and even jams in this book can help to take full advantage of the summer's tomato crop.

The one caveat about this book is that many of the recipes call for specific types of tomatoes. Don't feel bound by that, though it will give you something to go on if deciding to grow your own or purchase them for the first time. Each tomato may have a slightly different flavor, but they are all tomatoes. Try different kinds and figure out which ones you like best. The odds are good that you won't be disappointed whether you end up with Brandywine or Purple Ball tomatoes.

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