Cooking With Heirloom Tomatoes

Reader Contribution by Sheryl Campbell
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Bountiful heirloom tomatoes, photo by Sheryl Campbell

Tomatoes are the reason I started gardening. All summer you can find me in the garden, luscious fruit in hand and tomato juice dripping from my chin. This is where you need to start before learning to cook with heirloom tomatoes. Heirlooms have been around for years and were bred and kept because of their incredible flavors. Taste them. Get out in your garden or find a festival that offers a tomato tasting event. You’ll want to use different varieties in different recipes but you’ve got to get them on your tongue to know this.

Heirloom tomatoes can taste sweet, tart, spicy, smoky, or even have a hint of citrus flavor. Some of them have a strong old-fashioned tomato flavor perfect for marinara sauce, while others cry out for other uses. Make some recipes with single varieties, and create your own seasonal tomato blend of varieties for soup and bruschetta.

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