TOMATO SEASON

This is the season when tomatoes taste best…when they’re fresh from the garden. I recall, when growing up on the farm, my siblings and I would pick and eat the tomatoes right in the garden, like we did apples in the orchard. Even though my daughter and I don’t have a garden, we find fresh tomatoes at the farm market. Even those available in the produce section of the supermarket taste delicious this time of year

Tomato time was canning time, on the farm. Mother, Sister and I, often with the help of a neighbor lady, picked, blanched, peeled and packed tomatoes into jars to cook in the big canner.

We also enjoyed fresh tomatoes from our family garden. We ate many of these freshly sliced with a dab of mayonnaise or salt and pepper. Father liked his sliced tomatoes sprinkled with sugar. A friend, who visited us the other day, shared cherry tomatoes, cut in half, and then served with a balsamic dressing. Delicious.

An Ancient Food

Tomatoes grew wild thousands of years ago in early civilizations of South America, particularly Equator and Peru. Then travelers took this plant, actually classified as a fruit, to Central America and Mexico. In some areas they called it the “tomatl.”

When the Spaniards explored this area in the 1500s, they carried the tomato back to their country. The Spanish and Italians enjoyed this food and often stewed it or made sauces.

However, when the tomato was introduced to England, it wasn’t very popular. Some people even considered it poisonous. However, this food eventually was used in soups, stews, and sauces. It’s believed the early tomato was tastier cooked than raw for the delectable varieties of today hadn’t been developed.

Tomatoes Come Full Cycle

Tomatoes came full cycle when the early settlers brought them to this country. They began growing tomatoes and using them in their diets.

At first homemakers canned tomatoes in the home. Eventually a canning industry grew up and the tomato became popular year round, not just during the summer gardening season.

Very Versatile Food

The tomato is very versatile and can be used in many ways, both fresh and cooked. It’s a good addition to SALADS whether sliced with greens or served with various fillings.

You also can simply SLICE TOMATOES on a bed of salad greens and serve with dressing. Sometimes you may want to add sliced onions and cucumbers, either on individual plates or larger platter. You also can sprinkle with salt and pepper, olive oil and vinegar.

STUFFED TOMATOES – This is a tasty way to prepare tomatoes, which lends to great variety. Cut out the stem end of an unpeeled tomato. Slice the tomato into quarters or eighths about three fourths of the way down, but don’t cut the tomato apart entirely. Some cooks prefer to scoop out the center of the tomato and then fill it.

Use any variety of fillings: egg salad, tuna salad, chicken salad, cottage cheese, potato salad, cole slaw, three bean salad, shrimp salad, seafood salad, etc. Serve on lettuce and parsley. Accompany with pickles, olives, scallions, radishes and hot rolls or bread.

(c) Mary Emma Allen

(Mary Emma Allen researches and writes about family history from her New Hampshire home.)