Summer veggies (or fruits, rather) are something special here in Kentucky. They’re here and gone in a flash, and we savor every moment while they’re at the peak of freshness.
At the top of our list: heirloom tomatoes! Allow us to wax poetic briefly here; there’s just a certain kind of magic you can’t replicate when you pick and smell a fresh summer tomato. The expression “eating the rainbow” seemed to be created with tomatoes in mind, as they come in a mind-boggling amount of colors!
An heirloom tomato is a variety that has been passed down through several human generations within a family or geographic group (or it was commercially introduced before 1940).
Also, these varieties are “open-pollinated,” meaning they produce offspring that is identical to the parent! This means that, if enough is done to prevent cross-pollination, seeds saved from the parent plant will produce identical tomatoes each year!
(For comparison, hybrid or cross-bred varieties don’t always grow true to their variety).
Source: University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources
While sorting tomatoes for the table at the Southland Drive farmers market, somebody asked “Are these tomatoes ripe and ready to eat?” Our tomatoes are vine ripened before harvest, but generally benefit from a day or two on the counter when you get them home.
Here’s a good rule for a few time-sensitive food items: Buy your fish the day you want to eat it. Check out your tomatoes a few days before you want to eat them. Often we will have tomatoes at various stages of ripeness. If we waited until they are all “dead ripe” to take them to market, or put in your CSA share, they would get bruised up in transport. Most of our round reds can take a couple of days to ripen and you can secure them when they are firm. The many colors of heirlooms including the pink, yellow, green zebras, and black tomatoes have thinner skins and ripen much quicker, so you’ll want to get them close to when you want to use them. Most of the paste or Roma-type of tomatoes can hold on for a few days if you need them to. The red and black cherry tomatoes, plum tomatoes, along with the favorite Sun gold cherry tomatoes will be sooooo delicious enjoyed as soon as you get them, or a day later. They don’t take very long to be ready!
How do you judge their ripeness? Look at the color—the darker they are, the more ripe they are. Give them a gentle squeeze with the palm of your hand and the inside of your fingers, (not your finger tips or you will bruise them.) Heirloom tomatoes that are firm or pale in color need more time, while heirloom tomatoes with a little give and a deeper, darker color are ready to enjoy!
Insider tip: Cut into a few different tomatoes at different stages of ripeness. Compare the juiciness, the texture, the flavor, and be sure to notice the deepness of the color. Very quickly you’ll be an expert tomato ripeness judge yourself!
To store tomatoes until they’re ripe: keep them resting stem-side down on the counter or table where you can keep an eye on them. Don’t put them in the fridge. Remember to check their color and firmness daily as they do ripen quickly.
If one cracks and some of the juice leaks out, make sure it doesn’t pool around other tomatoes as the juice from one tomato will cause its neighbors to go bad.
It’s ideal to use up all your tomatoes when they’re ripe, but you have options if you can’t! Tomatoes are easy to blanch and freeze for use after the fresh season has passed. Another option is to oven dry and then pop into the freezer to enjoy later on.
Cecil Bell, the late patriarch of the farm, had a particular affinity for our black and purple heirloom tomatoes and would only fix his Wagyu/Angus beef burgers at family dinners when the tomatoes were at their prime.
In general, we know that simple is easiest when it comes to serving. Once ripe, slice and sprinkle with good quality sea salt and cracked pepper. Sliced tomatoes on white bread with some mayo is a taste of summertime. Sometimes if we’re feeling a little fancy, we’ll drizzle a creamy blue cheese dressing, and toss with our lettuce, spinach, and arugula, for a low-key, delicious summer dinner.
You can also take your tomatoes to fancy territory with this Tomato Gratin recipe!
If you’re looking to secure some of our tomatoes yourself, you have a few different options!
Join our Summer CSA (prorated for the remainder of the season,) visit us at the farm store on weekdays, visit us at farmers market on weekends, or order online for local delivery or pickup.