Guide

Fruit and Vegetable Guide

Tomatoes

Summer, Early Autumn

Description: Tomatoes come in several colors (red, orange, yellow, and green) and shapes (round, plum, and cherry). Yellow and orange ones are often lower in acid content than the more common red.

Selection: Look for vivid colors and smooth skins. Ripe tomatoes will give slightly when squeezed gently.

Storage and handling: Store tomatoes on the counter, never in the refrigerator. Ripe tomatoes will last several days this way, and not quite ripe ones will continue to ripen.

Preparation: Remove the core by cutting around the stem end with a small serrated knife. If desired, remove the skin by dipping tomatoes in boiling water for 10-30 seconds, until the skins crack; then dip quickly in cold water. Cut off stem ends and slip off skins. To remove seeds: cut off top and bottom of tomato, reserve. Squeeze middle section gently. For cherry or grape tomatoes, remove any green stems. Bake, broil, grill or sauté tomatoes. Microwave, covered, 3-4 minutes.

Serving suggestions: Eat fresh tomatoes sliced or in sandwiches. Cherry tomatoes are a tasty snack, with or without dip. Add chopped tomatoes or halved cherry tomatoes to salad or pasta (SIS, p. 122). Plum tomatoes are well suited to cooking; use in cooked salsa and Italian dishes (SIS, p. 133).

Nutrients: Vitamins A and C; potassium; antioxidant lycopene (highest in cooked tomato products).

1 lb raw = 2 cups
1 lb cooked = 1 1⁄2 cups

The Fruit and Vegetable Guide is reproduced here with permission of Herald Press, publisher of Simply in Season.


	Guide General Tips Apples Asparagus Beets Blueberries Broccoli Brussels sprouts Cabbage Carrots Cauliflower Celeriac Celery Collards Corn Cranberries Cucumbers Edamame Edible flowers Eggplant Fennel Grapes Green beans Kale Kohlrabi Leeks Lettuce Melon Mesclun Mushrooms Okra Onions Parsnips Peaches Pears Peas Peppers Persimmons Potatoes Pumpkins Raspberries Rhubarb Rutabagas Spinach Summer squash Strawberries Swiss chard Sweet potatoes Tomatillos Tomatoes Turnips Wild greens Winter squash Fruit and Vegetable Guide Tomatoes Summer, Early Autumn Description: Tomatoes come in several colors (red, orange, yellow, and green) and shapes (round, plum, and cherry). Yellow and orange ones are often lower in acid content than the more common red. Selection: Look for vivid colors and smooth skins. Ripe tomatoes will give slightly when squeezed gently. Storage and handling: Store tomatoes on the counter, never in the refrigerator. Ripe tomatoes will last several days this way, and not quite ripe ones will continue to ripen. Preparation: Remove the core by cutting around the stem end with a small serrated knife. If desired, remove the skin by dipping tomatoes in boiling water for 10-30 seconds, until the skins crack; then dip quickly in cold water. Cut off stem ends and slip off skins. To remove seeds: cut off top and bottom of tomato, reserve. Squeeze middle section gently. For cherry or grape tomatoes, remove any green stems. Bake, broil, grill or sauté tomatoes. Microwave, covered, 3-4 minutes. Serving suggestions: Eat fresh tomatoes sliced or in sandwiches. Cherry tomatoes are a tasty snack, with or without dip. Add chopped tomatoes or halved cherry tomatoes to salad or pasta (SIS, p. 122). Plum tomatoes are well suited to cooking; use in cooked salsa and Italian dishes (SIS, p. 133). Nutrients: Vitamins A and C; potassium; antioxidant lycopene (highest in cooked tomato products). 1 lb raw = 2 cups 1 lb cooked = 1 1⁄2 cups The Fruit and Vegetable Guide is reproduced here with permission of Herald Press, publisher of Simply in Season.
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