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Tomatoes

Delight your senses - and nourish your body - with these succulent, vine-ripened treats.

By Cary Neff

September 2008

Food Basics
Nutritional Know-How
Eat Up!
Kitchen Tricks

If pale, tasteless supermarket tomatoes have left you disappointed, don’t despair! Late summer brings a harvest of heirloom, vine-ripened tomatoes exploding with sweet, bold flavors. These versatile beauties add texture, color and powerful nutrients to soups, salads, sauces and main dishes.

Food Basics
A member of the nightshade family, tomatoes were originally small berries that grew on a South American shrub. Today, there are more than a thousand varieties grown around the world. From deep red to vivid orange and even dark purple, tomatoes come in a wide range of colors, shapes and sizes. While we classify them as vegetables because of their low sugar content, tomatoes are, botanically speaking, fruits. Since tomatoes are quite perishable, most grocery stores carry those that have been picked green, then forced to ripen, losing flavor and nutrients in the process. When purchasing, look for firm, vine-ripened tomatoes that are fragrant and richly colored.

Nutritional Know-How
Bursting with vitamins C and A, tomatoes also are rich in the phytonutrient lycopene. A naturally occurring antioxidant that helps protect cells from oxygen damage, lycopene is a good defense against many types of cancer. Lycopene is concentrated in any cooked form, including tomato paste and ketchup, and, significantly, a study conducted by the USDA Agricultural Research Service found that organic brands contained as much as five times more lycopene than nonorganic brands. A 2007 study at the University of California at Davis reported that raw, organic tomatoes also can have more antioxidants than raw, nonorganic tomatoes — a whopping 79 to 97 percent more. So opt for organic when available. Low in sugar and high in fiber, tomatoes are also a good source of potassium, niacin, vitamin B6 and vitamin K. Studies have shown that tomato juice acts as an anti-inflammatory and helps reduce blood-clotting tendencies.

Eat Up!
Whether slow-simmered in sauce, enjoyed raw on salads, puréed in cold soups, or lightly sautéed with vegetables,
pastas, poultry, meats, fish or shellfish, fresh tomatoes are a wonderful addition and complement to countless meals.

Slice a variety of fresh heirloom tomatoes and fan them out on a platter. Add fresh basil, sliced fresh mozzarella cheese, freshly ground pepper and coarse sea salt, then drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil.
For a colorful side dish, sauté cherry, grape, pear or plum tomatoes. Lightly pierce the skins of the tomatoes with a pin to help prevent them from bursting. Sauté in olive oil over medium heat. Season with chopped fresh basil, oregano or flat leaf parsley, sea salt, and freshly ground pepper.
Using a vegetable juicer, make a healthful vegetable juice by combining fresh tomatoes with carrots, beets, spinach, cabbage, bell peppers, celery, onion and garlic.

Kitchen Tricks

Store tomatoes at room temperature and away from direct sunlight to retain maximum flavor and hasten the ripening process. Once fully ripened, tomatoes can be refrigerated one to two days to prevent overripening (if possible, store tomatoes in a warmer
section of the fridge like the butter compartment). Remove from the refrigerator at least 30 minutes prior to use to regain juicy flavor and texture.
To keep juices intact, use a very sharp serrated or special tomato knife when cutting tomatoes.
Stainless-steel cookware is a good choice when cooking with tomatoes. Avoid aluminum and cast-iron pots. Tomatoes’ high acid content will interact with the metal of the pot, creating an unpleasant flavor in your foods.
Handle carefully. When bruised or dropped, even from a small distance, tomatoes lose significant amounts of nutrients.

Chef Cary Neff is the president of the consulting firm Culinary Innovations and the author of the New York Times bestseller Conscious Cuisine (Sourcebooks, 2002).

To learn how to prepare Tomato, Avocado and Pumpkin Seed Salad; Tomato, Cucumber and Goat’s Cheese Salad; Roasted Tomato Salsa; and Stuffed Jersey Tomato With Arugula, Asparagus and Herb Risotto, check out the Web Extras! at the top right of this page.

Tomatoes

Delight your senses - and nourish your body - with these succulent, vine-ripened treats.

By Cary Neff

Inspired Kitchen Department,
September 2008

Food Basics
Nutritional Know-How
Eat Up!
Kitchen Tricks

Food Basics (Back to Top)
A member of the nightshade family, tomatoes were originally small berries that grew on a South American shrub. Today, there are more than a thousand varieties grown around the world. From deep red to vivid orange and even dark purple, tomatoes come in a wide range of colors, shapes and sizes. While we classify them as vegetables because of their low sugar content, tomatoes are, botanically speaking, fruits. Since tomatoes are quite perishable, most grocery stores carry those that have been picked green, then forced to ripen, losing flavor and nutrients in the process. When purchasing, look for firm, vine-ripened tomatoes that are fragrant and richly colored.

Nutritional Know-How (Back to Top)
Bursting with vitamins C and A, tomatoes also are rich in the phytonutrient lycopene. A naturally occurring antioxidant that helps protect cells from oxygen damage, lycopene is a good defense against many types of cancer. Lycopene is concentrated in any cooked form, including tomato paste and ketchup, and, significantly, a study conducted by the USDA Agricultural Research Service found that organic brands contained as much as five times more lycopene than nonorganic brands. A 2007 study at the University of California at Davis reported that raw, organic tomatoes also can have more antioxidants than raw, nonorganic tomatoes — a whopping 79 to 97 percent more. So opt for organic when available. Low in sugar and high in fiber, tomatoes are also a good source of potassium, niacin, vitamin B6 and vitamin K. Studies have shown that tomato juice acts as an anti-inflammatory and helps reduce blood-clotting tendencies.

Eat Up! (Back to Top)
Whether slow-simmered in sauce, enjoyed raw on salads, puréed in cold soups, or lightly sautéed with vegetables,
pastas, poultry, meats, fish or shellfish, fresh tomatoes are a wonderful addition and complement to countless meals.

Slice a variety of fresh heirloom tomatoes and fan them out on a platter. Add fresh basil, sliced fresh mozzarella cheese, freshly ground pepper and coarse sea salt, then drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil.
For a colorful side dish, sauté cherry, grape, pear or plum tomatoes. Lightly pierce the skins of the tomatoes with a pin to help prevent them from bursting. Sauté in olive oil over medium heat. Season with chopped fresh basil, oregano or flat leaf parsley, sea salt, and freshly ground pepper.
Using a vegetable juicer, make a healthful vegetable juice by combining fresh tomatoes with carrots, beets, spinach, cabbage, bell peppers, celery, onion and garlic.

Kitchen Tricks (Back to Top)

Store tomatoes at room temperature and away from direct sunlight to retain maximum flavor and hasten the ripening process. Once fully ripened, tomatoes can be refrigerated one to two days to prevent overripening (if possible, store tomatoes in a warmer
section of the fridge like the butter compartment). Remove from the refrigerator at least 30 minutes prior to use to regain juicy flavor and texture.
To keep juices intact, use a very sharp serrated or special tomato knife when cutting tomatoes.
Stainless-steel cookware is a good choice when cooking with tomatoes. Avoid aluminum and cast-iron pots. Tomatoes’ high acid content will interact with the metal of the pot, creating an unpleasant flavor in your foods.
Handle carefully. When bruised or dropped, even from a small distance, tomatoes lose significant amounts of nutrients.

Chef Cary Neff is the president of the consulting firm Culinary Innovations and the author of the New York Times bestseller Conscious Cuisine (Sourcebooks, 2002).