By Grady Sampson
Summer is when the South Carolinian begins locking his doors at night to prevent the neighbor from sneaking in and leaving a load of surplus tomatoes on the kitchen counter.
It’s not that the average South Carolinian doesn’t like delicious vine-ripened tomatoes, it’s just that his own tomato plants are already producing more fruit than he can eat. People who don’t like tomatoes are in the minority. In fact the tomato is the most widely consumed vegetable in the United States.
The average American eats about 13 pounds of fresh tomatoes and 20 pounds of the processed variety each year. Those numbers are probably much higher for gardeners who grow their own.
You can get tomatoes in a wide variety of shapes, sizes and colors. Red is the most common sign of a ripe tomato, but some come in yellow and others are purple or green with stripes.
Some beefsteak varieties are so big that one slice can cover a dinner plate. Others are the size of your average marble.
What constitutes a good tomato?
It should be vine ripened, deeply colored and heavy for its size.
Do not refrigerate fresh tomatoes. They will become mealy and taste watery. Once you have sliced your tomato, then you can refrigerate leftovers, if you have any.
Tomatoes are great alone with just salt and pepper, and they marry well with fragrant herbs such as basil, oregano, dill, parsley and thyme. Pungent spices like curry, cumin or chili powder also make beautiful tomato-based sauces.
Cherry tomatoes are good roasted with garlic cloves and tossed with whole-wheat pasta, olive oil, chopped basil, salt, pepper and grated Parmesan cheese.
Get out those cookbooks or search the Internet for new ways to try tomatoes this summer. You won’t regret it.
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