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The Tomato

Too common for greatness?

By Caroline JanePublished 2 years ago 5 min read
Top Story - June 2022
21

I can still smell the tomatoes in the picture above. Earthy, with a dulcet sweetness, like the smell that follows a torrential downpour on a hot, sticky summer's day.

Full-bodied.

Unctuously inviting.

Intoxicating.

Deeply pervasive.

As I write, I find myself breathing deeply, trying to inhale their memory.

My tastebuds salivating, tantalised, and tortured by the absence of their fresh consuming scent.

I adore tomatoes.

Like everything (and everyone) grown well, cared for, and provided with the right conditions and nourishment, the humble tomato levels up and delivers unparalleled flavour. You don't need to be in southern Italy or any land of endless sunshine and water to enjoy the best of these succulent fruits. I live in what is often called the "grim north" of England, characterised by steely skies and barren, patchy moorlands; nonetheless, me and mine - well, we grow sumptuous tomatoes.

Seriously.

Here is another picture of some of our tomatoes:

With a little bit of consideration, anybody can grow delicious tomatoes. They grow well in window boxes, on window sills, in planters, in hanging baskets...anywhere there is a bit of sun and warmth. If you put a little effort in, the rewards are wonderful because no other fruit is as pregnant with flavour and alive with possibility as this globally ubiquitous berry.

They can be eaten at breakfast, lunch, or dinner. They can be baked, braised, fried, boiled, juiced, sauced, mixed with alcohol, and sometimes they can be eaten as nature intended, snipped straight off the vine.

Think about it - When it comes to tomatoes, our human culinary creativity seems to find no boundary. There are an infinite number of recipes surrounding the everyday tomato.

Why?

Because this humble, summer berry is LOADED with one of the five key food flavour profiles: UMAMI.

And...

Humans crave this flavour as much as we crave the sweetness of sugar.

So why is it when we talk about icons of summer food, our vastly versatile and feverishly flavoursome tomato doesn't instantly strut out into the limelight and claim the crown they so deserve?

It's a first-world problem...

Like the mid-field football player who always sets the ball up so the striker can score the much-celebrated goal or the bridesmaid who trots dutifully behind so many brides but never becomes the bride themselves, or the coach that sits on the side-lines of a high-performing team...

The tomato makes every food around them look and taste better for their presence.

The tomato is an understated hero.

An unassuming icon.

The unrecognised saviour of summer foods.

Each year in our reputed grimness of northernness (I love where I live, by the way), my family manages to cultivate glorious crops of tomatoes. Kaleidoscopic and variated ranges pop off our well-tended vines. And, every year, I see our bountiful crop as both a gift and a challenge as I promise myself that not one little berry will ever go to waste on my watch.

Not one.

AND... being a creative little soul... I will never be pedestrian about this pursuit either.

Definitely not.

Simple sauces and litres of passata are too every day for my tomato jewels.

Truthfully... It can get beautiful.

Annually, the juices of my tomatoes burst forth, joyously splashing and spraying, intermingling with my eager, highly determined creative flow, and together, exploratory food love is created.

(Not even blushing!)

Below are some of the highlights of the foodporn we have created together.

It usually starts with a lot of slicing...

Then I go mad experimenting.

Below is a tomato and balsamic chutney.

For this, I sauteed around a kilo of tomatoes in olive oil with a large diced onion, sprinkled on a couple of tablespoons of brown sugar and another couple spoons of balsamic vinegar, reduced the mix until it was thick and unctuous then decanted it into jars.

Simple.

Sealed within sterilised jars, this chutney can last a good three months.

It rarely has to.

My son and I enjoyed a side of this chutney within days of its creation. We teamed it with a picnic of cheese and onion tortilla pasties (mashed potato, grated cheese, fried onion, seasoning, and a little mustard wrapped and baked in a buttered tortilla envelope).

For such a simple lunch, the robust UMAMI flavour of the chutney creates a beautiful, almost calming meal.

We love it!

Are you fancying something a little spicier?

With yellow tomatoes, I can suggest an easy Tomato Chili Jam.

Again, after slicing, I sautee, sprinkle with golden sugar, and add a good crash of chili flakes to heat things up. Then, I let the simple mix reduce to a thick, sticky jelly, and, once at a stick-on spoon consistency, I decant into more cute, sterilised jars.

Again, putting it in jars like this increases shelf life.

My friends and I are cheese fiends, and over a couple of months, we steadily devour this jam. It compliments many different kinds of cheeses.

Our favourite cheese to enjoy this fierce little jam with is a beautifully ripe brie.

I should add that the flavour is further enhanced by accompanying the plate with a glass (or two) of well-rounded red wine, like a Bordeaux.

This is evening sunshine nibble food at its absolute best!

Sometimes... I get even spicier than the chili jam and venture into creating, then freezing, curry pastes.

There are countless recipes to choose from.

Once you have reduced and distilled the essence of the tomatoes in a pan, you blitz and mix in your chosen herbs and spices.

Section what you create and freeze in pots, ready to mix with a protein or vegetable of your choice.

I still have a few pots of the Jalfrazi paste below in my freezer from last summer!

The above are only three examples of creative tomato deliciousness.

I could go on... and on!

Tomatoes never get wasted round at ours. Never. To be fair... not much does. If you want to read more about my zero-food waste adventures and history, have a look at this article:

Our daily culinary companion... THE GRACIOUS and GALLANT tomato must receive the praise and adoration it deserves. PLEASE rescue it from an add-on and an addition to your summer foods and celebrate it loudly and proudly.

You will be rewarded with new, intriguing, vast depths of flavour.

Once we see past the tomatoes' commonness, we can truly see their glorious greatness.

Tomatoes are summer food icons.

No doubt in my mind.

Cheers!!

By Toni Osmundson on Unsplash

cuisine
21

About the Creator

Caroline Jane

Warm-blooded vertebrate, domesticated with a preference for the wild. Howls at the moon and forages on the dark side of it. Laughs like a hyena. Fuelled by good times and fairy dust. Writes obsessively with no holes barred.

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Comments (12)

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  • Heather Hublerabout a year ago

    Your tomatoes (and recipes) look and sound amazing!! I miss growing tomatoes. Loved all the ways you explored this wonderful fruit :) Great writing to boot!

  • Dawn Salois2 years ago

    Wonderfully written! I love all the pictures, too! I would definitely love to try the tomato chili jam with the cheese!

  • C. H. Richard2 years ago

    Some great recipes with tomatoes-mouthwatering. Well done and very deserving of win! ❤️

  • Lea Springer2 years ago

    I share your belief in not wasting food! I grow tomatoes but only for family members because I find them too acidic--but I love growing them! At the end of the growing season I gather up all my lettuce, radish and herb left overs from the garden and freeze them all in a jumble. When I'm making soup inthe winter, I just grab a handful and throw them into the pot! Yum! I love your easy- breezy way of writing!

  • Mariann Carroll2 years ago

    Love tomatoes. You made tomatoes so sexy with this story .enjoyed and learn a few things about tomatoes.😍

  • Morgana Miller2 years ago

    This made me cheer for tomatoes the way you might cheer for the main character in a classic underdog story... I have no idea how you managed to solicit such a series of complex emotions out of me for a humble fruit. I desperately want to grow them them now, I want to eat them, I want to... hug them? Seriously, really really well done.

  • Cathy holmes2 years ago

    This was incredibly well done, and now I want some cherry tomatoes.

  • Misty Rae2 years ago

    Tomatoes are awesome! Well done!

  • Dana Stewart2 years ago

    You’ve got my vote! Nicely done. Makes me want to make chutney!

  • I love tomatoes, part of lots of my cooking, and just on their own. Great work Caroline

  • Babs Iverson2 years ago

    Bravo!!! Loving your glorious tomato story!!!💖😊💕

  • Call Me Les2 years ago

    Omg I have to buy tomatoes today! This is incredible. One of your very best! I could taste them while I was reading. So well done!

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