A Tomato Primer

Inspiration comes easily and from many places this time of year. One step outside and you are greeted with the fragrance of fresh cut grass, the scent of the moist earth from an afternoon sun shower, or the perfume of warmed vegetables and fruits just plucked from the garden. It’s easy to desire a meal; it’s not always as easy to create the recipes that will satiate that desire.

Taste elements or textural components are always at the root of desire. Or, at least that’s the way it works in our Test Kitchen. We swoon, and then dissect the pure psychological need underlying the swoon. No, not sexy at all. Nevertheless, understanding the root of the desire is the key to creating the perfect recipes that elevate flavor and inspire us to the sensual derivatives that come from food. What I mean is that it’s never enough to simply say you crave bread; I might serve you crostini or bruschetta, a pudding or soup. While each is satisfying in its own right, if your desire is for soft, moist and sweet, crusted, oiled, and savory will never do. So when nature offers up the abundance of tomatoes that August is renowned for, I pay attention to my palate. Nature provides plenty of seasonal inspiration with its bumper crop of tomatoes. All I need to do is understand, and then satisfy, my palate’s desire.

Understanding my palate is one thing. Understanding the new heirlooms and hybrid tomato varieties that show up each year at the local farm stands is another task altogether. Of course, the internet provides thousands (literally) of sites that have information on tomato varieties – their flavor components, growing needs, and best uses. I find the comprehensive (but somewhat inconsistent) listing at Natural Hub to be a manageable list, though the link for heirlooms is outdated (and the website is interesting, if not controversial). If you’re interested in the endless variety of garden variety and heirlooms, along with the ability to acquire plants and seeds, check out Burpee. Though not a gardener (I leave that to my sous chef/master gardener), I did grow up in Bucks County Pennsylvania, which is home to Burpee. Or you can purchase heirloom seeds through the Seed Savers Exchange, an organization that has preserved and cultivated countless varieties of tomatoes (and numerous other plants).

This resource offers a comprehensive listing of heirlooms along with descriptions of their flavor components; and for those (like me) without a green thumb, who are mostly befuddled in the garden, I do rely on the University of Missouri’s information. They offer a useful primer on growing garden varieties, and valuable troubleshooting information. For a quick reference, I've prepared an overview of some varieties and their uses in cooking.

All of these resources, I hope, will lead you to creating the very best flavors we have to offer in this week's recipe.

Recipe: Summer Tomato Salad with Creamy Garlic Vinaigrette

Donna Marie Zotter is the founder and executive chef of There's A Chef in My Kitchen, a portable culinary school in Harrisburg, PA.

food cooking recipe

Have a comment or need more information? Share your thoughts here.