Heirloom
tomatoes
You may notice a
different kind of organic tomato, with
odd shapes and rich colors, at your local
produce market this week. These unique
tomatoes from Goodness Greeness are called "heirlooms".
The moment you slice open
and taste one of these
specialty tomatoes, you'll understand why they have become
immensely popular in home gardens, in farmers markets and at
your organic produce stand. They are popular because
they have incredible, old-fashioned tomato flavor, a
striking visual appeal and a history worth retelling.
Agribusiness tomatoes
To fully appreciate
heirloom tomatoes, we should first take a quick look at the recent
history of commercial tomatoes in the US.
With the centralization
of agriculture since World War II on corporate farms
(collectively called "agribusiness"), tomatoes have changed.
The things we like in a tomato (juicy, vine-ripened,
thin-skinned) are the opposite of the qualities agribusiness
needs in a tomato.
They need to ship
tomatoes great distances and then have long "shelf-life" at
your market, so the new tomato is picked solid (often green)
and has been "hybridized" to have little juice and thick
skins. They need to supply tomatoes over long periods
of time (not just when they are picked), so they pick them
green and ripen them later with ethylene gas.
(Have you ever seen a
truck load of green tomatoes just harvested in the Central
Valley of California? The trucks look like large
gravel trucks, with tons of green "rocks" stored in the open
trailer).
To meet their needs,
agribusiness uses highly hybridized tomatoes, sacrificing
flavor and juiciness for transportability and long shelf
life. And we've all experienced the results.
Moving
ahead by going back
Heirloom tomatoes are an
alternative to the tomato of agribusiness.
Heirloom tomatoes are
grown from seed that is not a hybrid but rather reproduces
"true to type". This seed has been passed down from
generation to generation, often for hundreds of years. With each generation, the
folklore of the heirloom tomato is retold.
Note: the seed must have
been available for at least fifty years for the variety to
be considered an heirloom. Some heirloom tomatoes date
back to the early days of our country!
The first thing you'll
notice about heirlooms is their different look. They
come in a variety of vivid colors and unique shapes. You'll find
purple, red and yellow striped and near-white. They're
round or oval or even shaped like an accordion.
Next, when you pick up an
heirloom, you'll notice that they are softer than
conventional tomatoes - you can actually feel the juiciness
inside. And they often have a tantalizing aroma.
And then, as you taste
them, there is the flavor, the texture and the tenderness
that heirloom tomatoes are renowned for.
Popular
varieties
There are hundreds of
varieties of heirloom tomatoes. Here are a few of the
varieties that
you'll most likely see at your market.
Brandywine - This
variety, from the Amish community, is considered by many to
be the premier heirloom. With fruits of one to one and
1/2 pounds, in pinks to golds to blackish purple, the flavor
is superb.
Cherokee Purple -
This pre-1890's variety, described as a "Cherokee Indian
heirloom", ripens to a deep purple-pink. Fruits are
large and flavorful.
Old
German -
Also called marble-striped, this heirloom originated in the
Mennonite community. The flavor is amazing, the fruits
are large and yellow with brilliant red streaks, mottles and
marbling.
Big
Rainbow - With
giant fruits up to two pounds, this heirloom has it all -
sweetness, rich flavor and striking color (yellow flesh with
red streaks). From the Seed Savers Exchange community.
Here at Goodness Greeness,
we get a mix of varieties of heirloom tomatoes from our
organic growers. So each box that we send to your
produce market may contain one or more of these varieties
(and sometimes other varieties).
Contact
us
You can find
organically grown heirloom tomatoes, along with a rich variety of other organic
fruits and vegetables,
from Goodness Greeness at your local market.
Email us
at
newsletter@goodnessgreeness.com if you can't find them and we'll help you
locate them. |
