In Season: Tomatoes

by Anya Hoffman on September 10, 2012

Remember a few years ago, when tomato blight pretty much wiped out the harvest throughout the East Coast, and nary a Caprese salad was made the whole summer? This year is pretty much the opposite of that, tomato-wise. Our CSA box this week was loaded with six pounds of sweet red and yellow tomatoes, and apparently there are many more to come. Bring it, we say.

How to Store: Do not refrigerate tomatoes. We repeat: do not refrigerate tomatoes—keep them at room temperature. Refrigerating tomatoes damages the fruits’ membranes and their flavor-producing enzymes, rendering them mealy and tasteless. Fresh tomatoes stored in a bowl on the kitchen counter should keep for a few days to a week.

How to Cook: When tomatoes are at their peak, it feels like a shame not to eat them in their purest form: sliced, liberally drizzled with olive oil, and sprinkled with sea salt and a few torn basil leaves. But take advantage of this... Read more >

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Recipe: Oysters with Spicy Tomato Granité

by JBF Editors on July 09, 2012

We have Long Island–based chef Lia Fallon to thank for this inspired garnish for raw oysters. She slow-roasts plum tomatoes until they're lightly caramelized, then blends them with vodka, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, and Tabasco. (If the combination sounds familiar, that's because it's the classic recipe for an invigorating Bloody Mary.) The purée is then frozen and flaked with a fork, resulting in a bracing ice that adds a spicy punch to briny bivalves. 

Get the recipe here. 

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Recipe: Stewed Octopus with Tomatoes

by jbfauthor on September 22, 2011

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The Bookshelf: How to Get a Good Tomato

by JBF Editors on July 10, 2011

Multiple JBF Award–winning writer Barry Estabrook recently won a 2011 JBF Journalism Award for his blog, politicsoftheplate.com, but it’s his new book, Tomatoland, about how industrial agriculture destroyed our most alluring fruit—and how it can be saved—that has been making headlines. Here, he tells us how to get the best tomatoes anytime of year.

Grow your own
Any spot that gets sunshine will do: balcony, patio, deck, or yard. Containers, potting mix, and seedlings are all you need to produce weeks of great-tasting tomatoes.

Buy Local
The closer a tomato is grown to your kitchen, the better it will be. The next best options can be found at your farmers’ market. Typically, a farmers’ market tomato has been picked fully ripe a day or two earlier. Supermarket tomatoes are frequently picked green, are gassed with ethylene to turn them red, and have a shelf life of... Read more >

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