Category: Fruits

Removing seeds from tomatoes will get rid of the bitter taste they can impart to a dish. As much of the water content of the tomato is in the flesh around the seeds, deseeding will also ensure bruschetta and salads stay crisp and delicious. Why do people take seeds out of tomatoes? If you’re adding […]

The cherry tomato is a type of small round tomato believed to be an intermediate genetic admixture between wild currant-type tomatoes and domesticated garden tomatoes. Cherry tomatoes range in size from a thumbtip up to the size of a golf ball, and can range from spherical to slightly oblong in shape. Are cherry tomatoes the […]

Not all canned tomatoes from Italy are San Marzano, and, to make things more confusing, San Marzano tomatoes grow outside of Italy, too. In fact, they are now also grown in the U.S., and their seeds are widely available, which means you could grow San Marzano tomatoes in your vegetable patch. Do San Marzano tomatoes […]

Scoop the seeds out from your tomatoes because otherwise they can ruin the consistency and make your dish watery. When adding tomatoes to a salad, it’s best to remove the seeds because the extra moisture can make your lettuce soggy and the seeds can play havoc with your teeth! Should I remove seeds from tomatoes? […]

Saving seed from heirloom or open0pollinated varieties ensures that the plants will exhibit the same traits as the tomato from which you harvest seed. Cut the tomatoes in half width-wise to expose the seeds. With smaller varieties, cut an ‘X’ into the bottom of the fruit. Squeeze the seeds and pulp into the container. How […]

If you’ve often wished for a tomato without any seeds, you’re in luck. Tomato growers have developed a number of seedless tomato varieties for the home garden, including cherry, paste, and slicing varieties. What type of tomatoes have the least seeds? Roma tomatoes are the canning tomatoes of choice, thanks to their firm texture, slender […]

Picked green and rock-hard, unripe tomatoes are loaded into trucks and taken to storage facilities where they are literally gassed. (Ethylene gas is what makes a tomato turn red.) Tomatoes naturally produce their own ethylene gas, and slowly redden as they ripen at their own pace, and that takes time. What do they gas tomatoes […]

Tomatoes are a relatively easy plant to care for, and can in fact be grown from the seeds of a store bought tomato. Ferment the seeds, plant them in the ground and place a cage or stake near the growing plant, and in only a few months you will have a wonderful, nutritious fruit. Will […]

“Depending on the time of year, at certain times of the winter, 90 percent of the fresh tomatoes that we find in the supermarkets are grown in Florida,” he says. Florida is warm in the winter, and it’s an easy trailer-truck ride to most of the country. How do tomatoes get to the grocery store? […]

When you simply salt a tomato, you not only draw out the juices, but you also concentrate the fruit’s flavor. And Epi’s Food Editor, Anna Stockwell, says salting tomatoes before baking is essential. Should I put salt on tomatoes? The salt actually highlights the tomatoes’ sweetness by acting as a foil. Think about it: That’s […]

The reason for sprinkling a pinch of sugar into a simmering saucepan of tomatoes is simple: sugar cuts the acidity of the tomatoes and creates an overall more balanced sauce. The exact acid levels in tomatoes can vary quite a bit depending on whether they’re fresh or canned, the tomato variety, and the time of […]

Beefsteak tomatoes, aptly named for their large size and meaty texture, have a classic tomato flavor, however, depending upon the variety, they can also be sweet to the taste. What is another name for beefsteak tomatoes? Big Beef. Brandywine (a pink heirloom variety) Bucking Bronco. What is similar to beefsteak tomato? You can also substitute […]

Although this was centuries before people knew anything about genes, mutation and heredity, farmers in Mesoamerica (where tomatoes likely were first cultivated) knew that planting seeds from this particular plant might give them larger tomatoes. And that’s exactly what they did. Why are American tomatoes different? Most supermarket tomatoes sold in North America share a […]

First, Hydroponic environments are often warm and humid, just the kind of conditions tomatoes like. They produce lots of big, juicy tomatoes… which means more water and cellulose, and less flavor per bite. Do hydroponic tomatoes taste different? Hydroponic tomatoes are now just as tasty as tomatoes grown outside in perfect summer conditions, scientists say. […]

The vast majority — 70% to 80% — of the sugar in tomatoes travels to the fruit from the leaves of the plant. But the remaining amount of sugar is produced in the fruit. This contribution is largely wiped out in uniform, commercial-style tomatoes — and thus they won’t be as sweet. Why are store-bought […]

But, for starters, indeed homegrown tomatoes — the way tomatoes used to be cultivated — are biologically, nutritionally, and flavorfully better. Do homegrown tomatoes have more nutrients? A new study published in the journal PLOS ONE finds that tomatoes grown on organic farms were about 40 percent smaller than conventionally grown tomatoes. The upside? They […]

Researchers found that the glass walls of the greenhouse block UV light, which can cause stress in tomato plants that may alter the fruits’ ultimate flavor. And when they artificially introduced ultraviolet rays into the mix, taste testers loved the result. Are greenhouse tomatoes Good? Greenhouse tomatoes are harvested vine ripened, or at least well […]

Tomato Conversions 1 small tomato = 3 – 4 ounces 1 cherry tomato = ½ – 2 ounces 3 medium round tomatoes = 1 pound 8 plum tomatoes = 1 pound 15 – 20 cherry tomatoes = 1 pound Can you replace cherry tomatoes with regular tomatoes? Baked Dish – Cherry tomatoes taste great when […]

What Are Plum Tomatoes? Plum tomatoes are long, plum-shaped, dense tomatoes grown specifically for making tomato sauce. Plum tomato plants have been bred over hundreds of years to produce the best tomatoes for making tomato sauce. What is the difference between plum and regular tomatoes? Plum tomatoes, also known as Roma or paste tomatoes, are […]

Baby tomatoes: cherry, grape, cocktail Grape tomatoes are the oblong, grape-shaped ones that you’ll often find in the grocery store; they have a lower water content and thicker skins than cherry tomatoes, which help them last longer. Can I use baby plum tomatoes instead of cherry? Plum style tomatoes can be used to replace cherry […]