Most of us are familiar with the common beefsteak and plum tomato varieties, but there are an amazing variety of tomatoes available. Many of these specialty or heirloom types do not pack well into boxes or ship or store well. But if you buy local, those needs aren't important. What matters is flavor. And wow, do these varieties have flavor! Colors range from yellow through orange, pink, and red, with some almost black-skinned and black-seeded. They vary hugely in size and shape. Besides the common smooth varieties, they may be egg-shaped or pear-shaped, or have ridges and bulges. Some are very solid, such as paste tomatoes, and others are almost hollow for stuffing. They may be bitter or sweet and have numerous uses in the kitchen.

Tomatoes are available from July through September, or even earlier if produced in a greenhouse or with a plastic cover. If you buy New York grown tomatoes, you can be assured that they were picked ripe. "Vine-ripened" tomatoes have better flavor and more nutritional value than those imported tomatoes. They also don't store as well, so you should eat them when they're at their peak of freshness. If a tomato is picked too early, it could look red but still be hard and tasteless.

What is now America's favorite vegetable wasn't always so beloved. Called 'pomo d'oro', or "golden apple", in Italian, the tomato had a more sinister reputation in northern Europe and the United States where it was known as the stinking golden apple or wolf peach due to the long-held belief that it was poisonous. One 17th-century cookbook said that although it was safe but "not advisable" to eat a cooked tomato, consuming a raw one would cause instantaneous death. The tomato's lethal reputation lasted until the early 1800s, even though Mediterranean countries had long before taken advantage of the tomato's culinary properties (they arrived in the 1500s and the first cookbook recipe with tomatoes was printed in 1692). It didn't become widely grown in the US until the 1820's after Colonel Robert Johnson ate a basketful of tomatoes in public without ill effect. As if all that weren't enough, there was the debate (that still rages to this day) over whether tomato was a fruit or a vegetable. In 1893, because of a tariff dispute, the US Supreme Court settled the argument; although "botanically speaking tomatoes are the fruit of the vine," they were vegetables both "in the common language of the people" and in use since they were served with the main course or in soup.

Check out your region's GUIDE TO FARM FRESH FOODS** for locations of U-pick farm and roadside stands.

Interesting Facts:

	Tomatoes are not vegetables, but are fruit (or more accurately, berries)!
	Tomato's Latin genus name Lycopersicon means wolf peach, peach for its luscious appearance and wolf for its supposedly poisonous qualities.
	The tomato was thought to be poisonous until the 1800's by North Americans and Northern Europeans.
	One 17th-century cookbook said that although it was safe but "not advisable" to eat a cooked tomato, consuming a raw one would cause instantaneous death.
	The turning point for the tomato's reputation in the US came on September 26, 1820 when Colonel Robert Johnson ate a basketful of tomatoes in public and without ill effect.
	In 1893, the US Supreme Court stated that although "botanically speaking tomatoes are the fruit of the vine," they were vegetables "in the common language of the people."
	Ketchup originally started out as ketsiap, a 7th century Chinese sauce made with fish entrails, vinegar, and spices. It wasn't until 1792 that tomatoes were used as an ingredient.
	We love our ketchup (at the rate of seven 14-ounce bottles of ketchup per person each year), but we love our salsa even more!

Side Bar:

	Buy firm, fragrant local tomatoes - picked vine-ripe!
	Look for specialty or heirloom tomatoes for a special treat (to add a special/unusual touch, for a different flavor, for extra variety and pizazz)!
	Ripen upside down at room temperature, out of direct sunlight.
	Do not store in the refrigerator unless overripe.
	Use in salads, sandwiches, pizza, sauce, soup, or … anything!

Eating - Now That's Easy!
Use plum tomatoes for a pasta sauce. Add tomatoes to your salads, burgers, and sandwiches. Even grill a cherry tomato on your kebab. Saute and toss into pasta with a basil pesto sauce.
Cut a flavorful beefsteak tomato into slices and place on top of fresh mozzarella cheese. Add fresh basil leaves and drizzle with olive oil. Salt and pepper if needed.

Nutritional Value
Tomatoes are an excellent source of beta-carotene. They are also a source of disease fighting lycopene, vitamin C and fiber. Lycopene is one of several newly discovered compounds in many plant foods. These substances, called phytochemicals ("phyto" for plant), are thought to be protective against certain forms of cancer and heart disease. Because of their prevalence in the diet, tomatoes provide substantial amounts of vitamins A and C as well as potassium and iron.

Best Way to Store
Store at room temperature, refrigerating only those that are overripe (temperatures below 55oF slow ripening). To ripen green tomatoes, place on a rack so that fruits are not touching and set in a warm location (65-70oF) away from sunlight. To slow ripening of green tomatoes, store in a cooler location, 50-55oF.

Selection
Choose firm, plump tomatoes with an aromatic tomato fragrance. Avoid overripe tomatoes with bruises, soft spots, or severe blemishes.

Standard types: We all know about these types…Beefsteak are perfect for sandwiches and salads, plum or "Roma" make great sauce, and cherry tomatoes are packed with flavor for snacks or salads.
Popular heirloom and specialty tomatoes:
Azoychka - Slightly tart, pale yellow to dark golden color. Excellent for juicing and slicing.
Yellow Pear- low acid, sweet and juicy, since the late 1800's.
Black Krim - Dark colored thin-skinned fruits that are incredibly juicy and have a slightly smoky saltiness that is ideal for salads. Don't store well.
Brandywine - Amish variety from 1885. Reddish-pink, large thin-skinned. Fantastic flavor, ideal for slices, salads, and sandwiches.
Cherokee Purple - Dusky rose/purple fruit with brick red interiors, pleasantly sweet and rich, thin skinned and soft (don't store well). Originated with Cherokees in Tennessee.
Garden Peach - 100-year-old variety. Small fruits with fuzzy red skin blushed with pink. Juicy, great keeping quality; can ripen slowly for months after it's picked.
Striped German -Yellow fruits with a red center, may weigh over a pound. Fantastic flavor and few seeds.
Sungold - Not an heirloom though it's flavor reminds you of one; very intensely flavored, yellow with red blush cherry tomato.
Zapotec - Mexican ancestor of all beefsteak varieties. Large pink hollow sweet fruits are ruffled. Excellent for stuffing and baking like bell peppers.

Sources:
Cutler, K.D. 1997. Burpee - The complete vegetable and herb gardener: a guide to growing your garden organically. Ellis, B.W. (ed). MacMillan. USA.
Stickland, S. 1998. Heirloom vegetables: a home gardener's guide to finding and growing vegetables from the past. Ryrie, C. (ed). Simon & Schuster Inc. USA.
Onstad, D. 1996. Whole foods companion: a guide for adventurous cooks, curious shoppers & lovers of natural foods. Chelsea Green Publishing Company, USA