Tomato Recipes

Easy to Grow

Tomatoes are the home gardener's dream. Almost anyone can successfully grow them, either in a garden or in a pot on the deck. Either way, the gardener is blessed with bushels of wonderful veggies that are the iconic symbol of summertime.

Not Considered a Food?

Native to South America, the tomato reached Europe only in the seventeenth century. For years, it was only grown as an ornamental plant - ironic because most home gardeners will admit the plant itself isn't that attractive - because the fruit itself was thought to be poisonous, or at least not very good for you.

Once it was realized that the tomato was not only edible, but yummy too, it quickly became a staple in many cuisines. What would Italian cooking be without tomato sauce?

Cooking Considerations

Tomatoes were always a popular food for home canning, preserving their bright color and flavor for enlivening the dinner table during the drab winter months.

But there's more to them than spaghetti sauce and salad wedges. Pickled while small and green, they can be preserved whole like cucumbers. Sliced green tomatoes can be dredged in flour and fried, or fried without flour for the southern sidedish, fried green tomatoes.

Tomatoes in the grocery store have been picked while unripe, and then chemically ripened in a process that leaves the fruit firmer - and thus easier to ship without damage - but less flavorful than the vine-ripened variety. Those sold 'on the vine' in stores? They have also been picked while unripe - the bit of vine retains some of the nutrients and allows the unripe fruit to ripen with slightly more flavor than those separated entirely from the vine. For the best flavor, nothing beats a tomato grown in your own garden.