TOMATOES

Availability
Year-round

Peak Season
July through September

Buying Tips
Buy firm, plump, unblemished tomatoes. Size is not an indication of quality or flavor. Not so very long ago, only red tomatoes could be found in markets, but now there are orange, yellow, purple, green, and even striped varieties. Most tomatoes are picked unripe and allowed to ripen during shipping and storage. Vine-ripened tomatoes, usually locally grown and available midsummer to early autumn, are picked as close to their flavorful peak as possible and have superior flavor.

Tomatoes are categorized by their shape. Round tomatoes range from the small cherry tomatoes to the large beefsteak variety. They are especially juicy and excellent in salads. Plum tomatoes are oval and have meatier flesh. Roma tomatoes are a popular West Coast plum tomato. They are best cooked into sauces. Green tomatoes have not been allowed to ripen; they have a nice lemonlike flavor.

To Store
Refrigeration dulls the flavor of tomatoes; only overripe tomatoes should be refrigerated. Store tomatoes, stem side up, at cool room temperature, out of direct sunlight, up to three or four days. As tomatoes ripen, their color deepens, but the amount of natural sugar remains the same.

To Prepare
Tomatoes do not usually have to be peeled before use. But if you wish to peel them, here’s how: With a sharp knife, cut a small shallow X in the bottom of each tomato. Lower the tomatoes into a saucepot of boiling water for 1 minute. Remove with a slotted spoon and plunge into very cold water; drain and gently remove the skin with a knife. To seed tomatoes, cut them crosswise in half and gently squeeze to remove the seeds.