Types of Tomatoes (part of the Tomato Threads) Date: Sat, 13 Sep 2003 Subject: Re: Two Years of Folly -- gardens From: Jeffry P. Barnes This doesn't directly relate to Nancy's gardens, but when we were in the Twin Cities over Labor Day and went to Whole Foods (upscale organic food market chain for non-USA listmembers) to get laundry detergent (local Twin City organic biodegradable stuff we've used forever), we found and bought some "Heirloom Tomatoes." These are varieties that are certified as being pre-1940 -- the kind of tomato your grandparent's grew and ate. Odd shapes, colors (one was purple, another striped), huge beefsteak type one that kept us eating BLT's for several days. Such beauty, such flavor, aaaaaahhh! Now, when I go to the grocery store and see the "we've engineered them to be all the same size and shape so they will fit neatly into the boxes and won't bruise" stuff they offer, I can hardly bear to buy them. Peace, Jeffry The Rev. Jeffry P. Barnes Cheyenne River Episcopal Mission -------------------------------------- From: Ellen Rains Harris I buy them at Sutton Place Gourmet here. With a little fresh basil and some fresh mozzarella, a little balsamic vinegar, a few rings of red onion, nothing, NOTHING is better. They overcharge for them horrifically, but I don't care. I made a rainbow tomato salad for the dinner we had at Renee's house when Tony Boom Boom came to visit, and as I recall, it was well received. I tried to grow some, but I don't have enough direct sunlight on a big enough patch of ground to do them justice. I may borrow a patch of ground from friends with Real Houses next summer. I never thought I'd wax poetic over tomatoes. -------------------------------------- From: Ann Markle A hint from my Sicilian friend -- when you can't get the really good stuff (out of season), buy Romas or "pear" tomatoes -- the flavor is consistently better than the other cardboard stuff. Ann The Rev. Ann Markle Crossville, Tennessee -------------------------------------- From: Sibyl Smirl Romas aren't "other cardboard"--they've been messed with very little for irrelevant things like keeping qualities and shipping qualities, because they are specifically for paste (less water in the first place, and good flavor for cooking) as they come, that is, they were preserved as the variety developed because people wanted to make tomato paste with them. They're nice, but they're their own thing, no cardboard. They're also good fresh, _because_ of the flavor, but lots of people don't like them fresh because they expect and like the water/juice that the others have more of. Sibyl Smirl -------------------------------------- From: "Jones, Phil" Jeffry on tomatoes: > >we've engineered them to be all the same size and shape so they will fit neatly > >into the boxes and won't bruise" stuff they offer, I can hardly bear to buy them. I read somewhere field tomatoes are also engineered so they can drop 3 feet from a conveyor belt into a truck without bruising or splitting open. And we wondered why they taste like rubber balls. The only decent tomatoes I can find are grown by friends or for sale at roadside stands. BTW I came late to this thread. Has a recipe for fried green tomatoes been posted yet? Philip D. Jones, Reporting Tsar -------------------------------------- From: "Jones, Phil" The tomato came from the New World. What did Italians eat before the discovery of the Americas? For that matter, if pasta really came from China, via Marco Polo, what did they eat before Marco's return? Actually, I think pasta was invented by teenage boys who were fooling around with bread dough and extrusion equipment. I have this theory that many significant discoveries were made by teenage boys, who were either taking a dare, or just fooling around. An example is the microwave oven, the principle of which was discovered by airmen (teenagers) who manned to NORAD line up in Canada. One of them wondered what would happen to a hot dog if you put it in the radar beam. I am sure the first person to eat a snail was a teenager; likewise the first lobster. Philip Jones, IT Reporting Team Leader -------------------------------------- From: Jeffry P. Barnes > what did they eat before Marco's return? Gruel. Seriously, weren't wheat berries soaked in water (e.g., gruel, or at least gruel-like stuff) the basic food of the Roman Empire, the stuff citizenship entitled you to a ration of? Peace, Jeffry --------------------------------------