It’s fresh tomato season and the livin’ is easy

CONCORD, CA (July 12, 2022) — One of the best things about summer is the joy of eating a delicious, juicy tomato picked fresh off the vine and delivered to your farmers market the same day.

The taste of fat slices of Early Girls in a simple tomato salad, or beefsteak tomatoes stuffed with cooked shrimp or Romas chopped into a fresh pico de gallo salsa is enough to make anyone a convert to summer tomatoes from the farmers market.

Supermarket tomatoes are picked under-ripe, trucked across the country and then gassed to ripen them for store shelves. The flavor of a fresh-from-the-farm tomato surpasses even the “vine-ripened” ones you get at the grocery store.

During the summer months, there are many tomato varieties available at your farmers market: little cherry, pear, and grape tomatoes, medium-sized hybrid Early Girls, beefsteak tomatoes and large juicy heirlooms. The flavors of each variety are simply amazing.

There are more than 10,000 known varieties of tomatoes, each with a slightly different taste, size and even texture. There’s a tomato variety for every culinary need. Beefsteaks are large, juicy and great for slicing on sandwiches. Romas hold up well in sauces and salsas. Sweet cherry tomatoes are small enough to pop in your mouth for a snack or roast on a sheet pan until they burst with flavor.

The nose knows

Fragrance is a better indicator of a good tomato than color. Use your nose and smell the stem end. The stem should retain the garden aroma of the plant. If it doesn’t, the tomato will lack flavor.

Once you have purchased these luscious tomatoes, don’t store them in the refrigerator. The cold destroys the wonderful flavor and can alter the texture. Place them on the counter and use within three days. If you must refrigerate them, bring them to room temperature before preparing or cooking to bring back some of the flavor.

Here are some easy ideas for using summer-fresh tomatoes:

Toss halved Roma or San Marzano tomatoes with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper and roast at 400 for 30 minutes to an hour, until they are slightly blackened. Chop them up, add fresh onion, ground chili pepper, some cilantro and lime juice and you have a savory homemade salsa.

“Zoodle” some zucchini, toss with olive oil and halved cherry tomatoes for a light meal. Or toss with cooked pasta.

Slice thick slabs of beefsteak or colorful heirloom tomatoes and plate. Add sliced fresh mozzarella, a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Add a slice of beefsteak tomato to your grilled cheese or bacon, lettuce, avocado sandwiches. Any sandwich is better with a slab of summer tomato.

Make homemade marinara, ketchup or tomato sauce.

The Concord Farmers Market is in Todos Santos Plaza Tuesdays & Thursdays. For more information visit pcfma.org