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August 04, 2006
In Season: Tomatoes
My garden is endlessly producing more and more zucchini, but lately my tomato plant is showing some potential. Here's what the Cooking LIght experts have to say about tomatoes.
How do you pick a good tomato?
Not by looks. Some of the best-tasting tomatoes happen to be some of the homeliest. And picture-perfect tomatoes can be flavorless. Picking a good tomato starts at home, or in your neighborhood. Home-grown tomatoes can't be beat. But when you buy tomatoes, smell them—a good tomato should smell like a tomato, especially at the stem end.
How do you make a lackluster tomato taste better?
Even the best tomatoes taste a little better with a sprinkle of salt, which accentuates the balance of sweetness and acidity. If you have a tomato that's flavorless beyond a restorative touch of salt, drizzle a few drops of balsamic vinegar or honey over it to bring out both the sweetness and acidity. Grilling, roasting, and stewing can also give a bland tomato life: When you apply heat, the tomato's moisture evaporates, concentrating its flavor.
What makes a tomato mealy? How can you tell if a tomato is mealy before slicing into it?
Tomatoes are greatly affected by temperature, even during the growing process. They originally came from the warm western coast of South America and don't respond well to temperatures below 50 degrees. Cool temperatures can change a tomato's composition, converting its natural sugar to starch and resulting in a tasteless, mealy tomato. For this reason, never refrigerate a tomato. The cold environment causes the water in the tomato to expand, ruining the texture. If a tomato feels soft, there's a chance it will be mealy, but, unfortunately, it isn't always possible to tell before slicing.
What is the best way to ripen and store tomatoes?
Place them at room temperature in a single layer, shoulder-side up, and out of direct sunlight. To store ripe tomatoes for any extended period of time, keep them between 55 and 65 degrees.
My grocer sells little net bags of tomatoes still attached to a vine. Are these really worth their high price?
Those tomatoes were not necessarily ripe when picked, so they often lack flavor. They're generally not worth the extra expense.
What are the flavor differences among red, yellow, orange, green, and purple tomatoes?
Generally speaking, yellow and orange tomatoes tend to be less acidic than red and are therefore sweeter. These tomatoes have a fruity, almost tropical flavor as a result of their low acidity. Because their sugars aren't fully developed, green tomatoes have a tart, citrusy tang. Purple and blackish varieties have a complex flavor similar to red wine.
Posted by Lisa at August 4, 2006 11:48 AM
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