Tomato Varieties For Nh

Recipes for stuffed tomatoes, grilled tomato tart and tomato confetti fritters

( Matthew Mead / Associated Press ) - This Aug. 1, 2011 photo shows stuffed tomatoes in Concord, N.H. Tomatoes are best picked absolutely ripe, so if you have access to a farmer’s market selling freshly picked tomatoes, grow your own or are lucky enough to have a generous and green-thumbed friend, you’re getting tomatoes at their best and juiciest.

Here are what tomato lovers and experts have to say about some common misconceptions about this vine product.

— FRUIT OR VEGETABLE?

This is the kind of thing that can spark quite the argument, with both sides passionately supporting their claims. Oddly enough, both are right, at least according to the USDA’s Economic Research Service. Yes, botanically speaking the tomato is a fruit, but horticulturally and legally, it is considered a vegetable.

This debate has been adjudicated by none other than the U.S. Supreme Court. It happened in the late 19th century in connection with a challenge to tariffs on imported produce. The high court ruled in Nix vs. Hedden that despite the botanical definition, tomatoes are a vegetable, in part because at the tables of the time they were served as “the principal part of the repast” and not as dessert.

No telling what the justices would have done in today’s envelope-pushing culinary world of tomato jams and gelatos.

A side note: Today’s tomatoes are mainly tariff-free since those that aren’t grown domestically are mostly imported from Mexico and Canada, which are covered by the NAFTA free trade zone.

— THE BIG CHILL

A lot of people pick out the freshest, juiciest tomatoes they can find, take them home. and bundle them into the fridge, thereby killing all that wonderful aroma and flavor.

Instead, tomatoes should be stored at room temperature, says chef Matthew Lowe of the Kendall-Jackson Wine Estate in Fulton, Calif., which hosts an annual Heirloom Tomato Festival. Put the tomatoes in the fridge and “you lose that smell, that taste you get from the aroma, and you never get it back.”

That means that tomatoes are not like cheese, which should be refrigerated for storage then allowed to come to room temperature before serving. With tomatoes, once chilled, there’s no going back.

— TOXIC TOMATOES?

Tomatoes are part of the nightshade family, just like peppers and eggplants, which have led some in the past to believe the fruit is poisonous. In fact, the tomato is harmless. However, Lowe notes, you don’t want to eat the leaves or other parts of the plant.

Steve Victor : Seasonal Food- Heirloom Tomatoes

: Even though every freshly-picked vine-ripened tomato tastes fantastic, many people these days are looking for heirloom tomatoes because their flavor and texture is hard to find in modern-day tomatoes . In the past 40 years we have lost many small family farms and along with them their heirloom varieties. The multitude of varieties that had adapted to survive well for hundreds of years were lost or replaced by fewer hybrid tomato varieties. The tomatoes we buy off-season are mostly bred for high yield, shipping and shelf-life. They have very little flavor and turn color long before ripening, which makes it difficult to know when to serve them. In-season, people are choosing heirloom tomatoes of all colors and shapes and towards the pink hybrids (red flesh, clear skin). “Pink tomatoes , both heirlooms and hybrids, tend to be high in acids and high in sugars as well, and have what we often refer to as ‘old-fashioned flavor’.” says one tomato farmer of forty years. An heirloom plant is generally considered to be a variety that has been passed down through several generations of a family because of its valued characteristics. The term ‘heirloom’ applied to plants was first used by Kent Whealy of Seed Savers Exchange in a speech he gave in Every heirloom variety is genetically unique. Inherent in its uniqueness are an evolved resistance to pests and diseases and an adaptation to growing conditions and climates. When the genetic diversity of a plant is reduced, food production is drastically at risk from pests and diseases. Scientists call it ‘genetic erosion’. The late Jack Harlan, world renowned plant collector, wrote, “These resources stand between us and catastrophic starvation on a scale we cannot imagine. Tips on how to select and store fresh tomatoes : Ripe tomatoes will be vibrant in color, plump and firm. They should have just a little give. If you can, sniff the tomato. If it is missing that sweet, woody smell, choose another. Look for tomatoes that are free of wrinkles, a sign of age. Store tomatoes unwashed and at room temperature. Refrigeration turns the flesh mealy. Remove from plastic bags. Arrange right-side up on a plate or tray with airspace between tomatoes . If you need to speed the ripening, put in a paper bag with an apple. Once ripe, tomatoes will last up to three days. For smooth slicing, use a serrated knife. Use a paring knife to remove core. Put a double-layer of paper towels on countertop.

Annual report / New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station

Extension circular / New Hampshire. University. Extension Service

Extension bulletin / New Hampshire. University. Extension Service

Journal of food science and technology

Station bulletin - New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station