It is Tomato Central at our house right now due to the proliferation of what is growing in my husband’s garden. (If you live in my area and want buy some, let me know.) I find the number of tomatoes he grows humorous as neither one of us is a fan of fresh store-bought tomatoes. I love a good pasta sauce or using them in other ways but not to just eat them fresh. However, as he has branched out to grow heirloom varieties, I can now enjoy a caprese salad or a tomato tart. All these types of fresh tomatoes and what to do with them is the subject of this Cooking Tip.

There are two main types of tomatoes – Hybrid and Heirloom. Hybrids are intentionally cross-bred by the plant breeders. This produces tomatoes that are more disease-resistant, have longer shelf lives, better yields, uniform appearance and so forth. Like so much fruit (and veggies), they are bred to give the consumer what “looks” good, not necessarily what tastes good. They are the main type of tomato that you will see in the supermarket.

Heirloom tomatoes are grown from seeds that have been saved and passed down through the generations. Farmers would save the seeds from the best fruits and then use them to grow more. It is said that some varieties can date back 100 years or more.

The reason that many people rave about heirloom tomatoes is that they think they have superior taste. I can personally attest to that but I suppose it depends on your taste buds. They can look unusual, both in color and shape. Note that the term “heirloom” is unregulated. It is one of those terms that has become popular and growers want to jump on the bandwagon. So, try to buy from someone you trust or grow your own.

If you are a gardener, here are a few pros/cons to help you decide what to grow.

Heirloom Pros

• Flavor—many think it is superior to hybrids
• Variety – more variety in color, size, texture
• Tradition – continuing to propagate heirlooms contributes to greater genetic diversity in tomato plants
• Replanting – the seeds can be reused season after season with the fruit being identical to the parents

Heirloom Cons

• Appearance – although some people love how different they look, others do not
• Yield – they have a lower yield than hybrids (You would never know that by looking at my husband’s garden!)

Hybrid Pros

• Growing conditions – they are more disease- and heat-resistant and manage harsh weather better than heirlooms
• Yield – these produce more fruits per plant than heirlooms
• Consistency – with hybrids, you are going to get a more consistent and dependable harvest

Hybrid Cons

• Replanting – the seeds cannot be replanted as they have been cross bred and the next season, they will not be like the parent and could be very undesirable.
• Flavor – as the growers try to make better growing fruit, it often loses in the flavor department.

There are thousands of heirloom varieties. One gardening site listed almost 300 varieties with interesting names such as Aunt Ginny, Banana Legs, Black Sea Man, Cosmonaut Volkov, Cream Sausage, Hillbilly, Potato Leaf, Nebraska Wedding, Pink Ping Pong, Sugar Lump and Ten Fingers of Naples.

Every list of “favorites” you look at is different. Therefore, let me just list those my husband is currently growing in Colorado.

Amish Paste – this heirloom is thought to have originated in the 1870s with the Amish people in Wisconsin and later in Pennsylvania. It is fairly large and known for its juicy flesh. Although they can be eaten fresh, they are a superb sauce tomato.

Beefsteak – the most common heirloom with several varieties. There is also a type of hybrid by the same name. The tomatoes are large, about a pound or more.

Black Krim – named for the Crimean Peninsula of Ukraine, it is another beefsteak type tomato that is dark red and salty.

Brandywine – relatively large tomatoes with an excellent flavor and a pink hue. We grow both a red and yellow variety.

Cherokee Purple – a beefsteak tomato with a green shoulder and purplish/blackish interior.

Mr. Stripey – these huge, beefsteak-type tomatoes are very pretty due to their red and yellow coloring. The background color is yellow to light orange, with red spots/stripes radiating out from the stem. They have a high sugar content, making them particularly delicious.

Old German – this tomato was a favorite of Mennonite families from the Shenandoah Valley area of Virginia, and dates back to the mid-1800s. It is in the beefsteak family and can grow to a size of almost 2 pounds. It is bi-colored, featuring golden yellow and reddish stripes.

There is another way to categorize tomatoes apart from heirloom vs hybrid.

• Cherry tomatoes – these are round, bite-sized and juicy tomatoes. They are great for salads, snacks or kebabs.
• Grape tomatoes – sources say they should be half the size of cherry tomatoes but I must say this doesn’t appear so when you look at the boxes in the supermarket. They are more oblong in shape, are less sweet than cherry tomatoes, contain less water and a thicker skin. You may use as you would cherry tomatoes.
• Roma tomatoes – these are larger than either grape or cherry and are also known as plum tomatoes. Due to their sweetness and juiciness, they are good for canning or sauces.
• Beefsteak tomatoes – large and firm enough to hold their shape when sliced. They are often preferred for sandwiches or burgers although they can also be canned or used in making a sauce.
• Tomatoes on the vine – sold still attached to the vine, which prolongs their shelf life. Good for sandwiches, canning and sauces.

So, what’s the deal with San Marzano tomatoes? This is probably one of the best known tomato varieties and is a type of plum tomato. The authentic San Marzano is grown in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius in volcanic soil, leading to a lower acidity and a sweeter flavor As with so many things, there are fakes out there. In the supermarket, you will mostly find them canned. Look for the D.O.P label Pomodoro San Marzano dell’Agro Sarnese Nocerino.

Chefs will claim that this is the preferred tomato for making sauce due to its sweet taste and thick flesh. When put under taste tests, neither Cooks Illustrated nor Serious Eats found it necessarily lived up to its hype.

Most of us in the cooking world have been taught that you should never refrigerate tomatoes. It turns out that this is one more of the culinary myths that has been perpetuated through the years. (For more culinary myths, see the two Cooking Tips I wrote on this subject. Find Part 1 here and Part 2 here.)

Taste testers have found that tomatoes do fine in the refrigerator and the shelf life is prolonged by up to 5 days. If they have been cut, put them in an airtight container to prevent them from picking up odors.

Another myth is that you need to remove the seeds. You do not. They do not affect the flavor but if you want them removed for aesthetic reasons, then go right ahead.

What is the best use for heirloom tomatoes? Use them in a way that they can shine such as caprese salads or tomato tarts. Here are two great recipes. The first is a Tomato & Basil Tart, which is like a caprese salad baked in a pie crust. The second is an Heirloom Tomato Tart with a custard filling. Both are excellent.

What about you? Are you a tomato lover? Have you tried heirlooms? What is your favorite?

As with so many gardens this time of the year, ours has begun to produce beautiful summer squash. My husband only grows two kinds and they are the two you see most commonly in the supermarket – zucchini & yellow crookneck squash. There is more to summer squash, though, and that is the subject of this Cooking Tip. I will discuss a few of the varieties although the list is not exhaustive.

I am pretty sure you won’t be able to find all of the following varieties in your supermarket. At my local markets, I can buy zucchini, yellow crookneck squash, chayote and tatume. You may find a larger selection at a farmer’s market and you can certainly grow most of these.

Chayote

With a somewhat wrinkled shape and a light green color, this variety is slightly sweet with an apple- or cucumber-like flavor. It may be put into a salad, marinated, pickled, grilled, sauteed or used in soups.

Cousa

This variety of summer squash is shorter and squattier than zucchini. It is lighter in color and may be striated. It has very thin skin and is a bit sweeter than zucchini. Because of the shape, they are great for making stuffed squash boats.

Pattypan

This squash comes in a variety of shades from white to yellow to green as well as different sizes. They are also known as “scallop squash” due to the scalloped edges. The smaller ones take very well to the grill but are also good when roasted or sauteed.

Round zucchini

Also known as Eight Ball zucchini. they taste just like regular zucchini but are shaped more like a grapefruit. They are great for making stuffed squash just as you would stuffed peppers. Another fun use is to spoon out the insides and use as a bowl in which you serve soup.

Tatume/Tatuma

A Mexican heirloom squash also known as calabacita or Mexican grey squash. Some look like a lighter green zucchini and others are more round in shape. No matter the shape, this variety is sweeter and more flavorful than zucchini. Use just as a regular zucchini.

Yellow Crookneck

This is what most of us call yellow squash and can be either straightneck or crookneck. They are bright yellow and the skin can be either smooth or bumpy. They have the best texture if under 6 inches in length. Flavor is mild and similar to zucchini. A popular use is in a summer squash gratin, especially when mixed with green squashes.

Zephyr

This squash is two toned, yellow on top and pale green on bottom. It is a hybrid between yellow crookneck, delicata and yellow acorn squash. They are perfect for slicing into rounds or making into zucchini noodles. They have a somewhat nutty flavor.

Zucchini

This is the squash most people think of when you say summer squash. They are thin skinned with firm flesh. The smaller ones may be eaten raw but may also be grilled, sautéed or grated into zucchini bread.

As you pick out your summer squash, look for ones that are firm, vibrant in color and heavy for their size. Avoid wrinkled skin or soft spots. Pick smaller squash (aim for under 8 ounces) as they will be more tender, less watery and more flavorful.

When you get the summer squash home, store in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator for up to about a week or two. Some experts say they will keep longer if put in a plastic bag with one corner open to promote air circulation.

If sliced and blanched, they can be frozen and kept that way for up to a year. It can also be grated and frozen to use later in zucchini bread or muffins. Note, though, as it thaws, it will accumulate liquid, which will need to be drained.

My favorite way to prepare summer squash is to toss them in oil and Italian seasoning, sear in a grill pan or a cast iron skillet and then serve with a grating of Parmesan cheese. What is your favorite way?

I have written a prior Cooking Tip on chili peppers in which I discussed many different varieties. In this Tip, I wanted to talk about the pepper we use most commonly in our kitchens – the bell pepper.

Bell peppers are great for adding not only flavor but also color and texture to your dishes. The one thing they do not add, though, is heat as they rate zero on the Scoville heat chart. You will see them offered in different colors for varying prices. Just what is the difference?

The most common colors you will see are green, red, yellow and orange although rarely you might see brown, white, purple and even striped. The difference in color has to do with the stage of ripeness along with the varietal of the pepper plant.

All bell peppers start out green and change color as they mature. Depending on its varietal, when it is ripe it may become yellow, orange, red or one of the more unusual colors. Some varieties even remain green when ripe.

The taste of a bell pepper also changes as it ripens and changes color. Many people think they do not like bell peppers because they have only tasted the unripe green one. Those are more grassy and even bitter as compared to riper peppers. As they ripen, they become sweeter and lose the bitterness. It is almost like a different fruit. (Yes, even though we think of them as vegetables, they are botanically classified as a fruit.)

When using bell peppers, you can easily substitute one color for another. The only caution I would add is that using an unripe green pepper in place of the riper colored ones will alter the taste. However, swapping out red for yellow and so forth will not change the taste. It will, though, change the appearance.

The nutritional value also changes with the ripening process. Although all bell peppers are a very healthy fruit, as they ripen, they do develop higher amounts of some nutrients such as vitamin A & C, lycopene, and lutein.

When choosing bell peppers, pick ones that have a firm skin without wrinkles. Look at the stem; it should be fresh and green. They should feel heavy for their size. Avoid peppers with any kind of blemishes.

Green peppers will have a longer shelf life because they are less ripe. They will also be less expensive since the colored ones have had longer time on the vine, which necessitates more care. Do not let that discourage you from buying the colored ones, though, especially if you think you do not like bell peppers because you have only tasted green ones. Store them whole and unwashed in your refrigerator produce bin.

I love the ripe ones raw on a salad but they have many other uses such as stuffed peppers, sausage and peppers, made into a romesco sauce and many others. Do you have a favorite use? Let me know.