August 30, 2010

tomato two cents

The great upside down tomato experiment of 2010 is officially a success. Having tried every tomato cage/stake/spiral/string tie up mess known to man, this year we decided to stop trying to defy gravity and hung all our tomatoes upside down in the greenhouse. We are now reaping the rewards with more tomatoes than we can even think about eating.

Since I am apparently under the impression that someone out there might not be able to pick a favorite tomato without input from me, I thought I'd give you my tomato taste test two cents.

The initial reason behind this post actually has nothing to do with taste, but with the appearance of the Yellow Pear, our first contestant in the tomato contest. She is curvy and cute, and I was *this close* to finding some sort of little flower to put on her head as a hat. The only thing that stopped me was a flashback to this post, and the fact that I am still feeling remorseful for the time I spent arranging and then photographing my clothes. Dressing up a fruit falls loosely into that same how to waste valuable time category, and I am proud of the fact that I restrained myself on this occasion. I am now able to devote the precious time I saved to writing a post about dressing up a fruit instead.

Baby steps.

So, back to the show.

Yellow Pear.


She definitely wins in the beauty portion of the contest what with her flippy, sassy hairstyle and all, but in my opinion, lacks a bit in the taste department. Compared to the competition, she's just not a standout in the juicy or flavorful category.

But she's cute. Did I mention that she's cute?

Contestant number two, and our second runner up, Supersweet 100.


For a long time, Sweet 100 seemed to be the end all be all cherry tomato, but times have changed and now Supersweet 100 and Sweet Million are heavy competitors in this category as well. While we've tried them all, this year we opted for Supersweet 100 and she's good, but....

Here we have Sugary, our first runner up.


This is the first time I've grown this variety and I love it. Very sweet and flavorful. She's even worth the extra work it took to prop her up for her photo shoot. I used a nut out of the miscellaneous nut and bolt jar. In a beauty contest, it's as much about what you don't see as what you do see.

Finally, our hands down winner, Sunsugar.


It's really no contest at all. She's the winner by a mile. Sweet, juicy and flavor packed, this beauty has it all. I use her for everything. In BLTA's, Panzanella, Paula's Cracker Salad (very weird but very good recipe - if you try it, don't use anywhere near that much mayo). The only bomb was homemade salsa. She's actually too sweet for traditional salsa - it just didn't taste right, but I can only imagine what she'd taste like in Mango or Pineapple salsa. I must give that a try.

We are also growing Lemon Boy, Big Boy and Roma, but it didn't seem appropriate to mix the boys in with the girls, although I'm sure that day isn't very far off in the real pageant world.

So, that's my humble, somewhat ridiculous tomato opinion, but I'd love to hear yours.

Who tops your tomato list?

20 comments:

  1. Oh, your tomatoes, I tell you I did not even know that tomatoes could be so darn photogenic! They are beautiful and I don't even know what variety of cherry tomato or grape tomato we grow, I just know that when they grown here and ripened in the sun, they're SO GOOD....and so sweet, I pop them in before I even think to evaluate their characteristics. You are so funny!
    XOXO
    Joni

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  2. I love the yellow pear, mostly because I remember the first time I ever tried it. I was 10 and we were vacationing in Florida. I thought I was eating a rare tropical fruit! "It's a tomato? But it's not round or red!" Alas, I was young and sheltered in my produce knowledge. I'm sad to say I can never find them in stores here in Indiana.
    God Bless Ya!

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  3. Oh my goodness, what a funny post, it amost makes me want to eat tomato's, but alas I can not. Love the photos!

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  4. I agree with your judgement--Sunsugars are the best! I can't resist standing in the middle of the garden eating handfuls before they ever get near the house.

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  5. Yellow Pear is certainly a looker but I have to agree with you -- I grew Sweet Million (more like Sweet 20 or 30 due to lack of heat here) and Sungold which look an awful lot like Sunsugar. Although I went the rightsideup route.

    BTW - I'd be right there with you putting a little flower hat on Y.P.

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  6. Hubby likes any kind as long as they are large, round and red. He planted two on the deck this summer... one with red tomatoes and the other with yellow... the yellow plant has had much more fruit on it and unfortunately he doesn't like them so is giving them away. I don't remember their names.

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  7. Well, I'll tell you this much - Black Cherry was good for a laugh, but I just can't get past eating a fruit that looks like a bruise.

    And I'm not happy at all to hear that we will not be treated to a replay of the Great Wardrobe Photo Session of Spring '10. It's not fair that you like Charleston better. I'm taking it personally.

    (PS - propping up cherry tomatoes on a nut from the nut jar is nothing at all like photographing one's wardrobe, right? Right???)

    PSS - Texas Forever.

    PSSS - You're so right about the pageants. Rue the day!

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  8. Such fun! Talking about them like that gave them a personality! But they are tomatoes....oh, dear, I've gone over the edge :>)
    Annette

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  9. Wow! That is a lot of tomato plants! No wonder you're up to your ears in them!

    Love the pics especially of the pear tomato. She really does need a flower in her hair to highlight her little flip hairdo!

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  10. I don't like tomatoes, but they sure are CUTE~

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  11. I fixed my hair like the pear tomato today but that's where the resemblance ends... 'cause her curves are a nicer than mine. She'd be really hot in a polka dot bikini and I have to stick to one piecers!

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  12. That pear tomato is so cute! She definitely needs a wardrobe!

    Donna

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  13. My very favorite tomato is the Kellogg's Breakfast tomato. It's an heirloom variety sold at the Sunday farmers' market. Yum!

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  14. I'm not into
    monogamy when
    it comes to
    tomatoes.....
    I love them all,
    as long as they
    are right off
    the vine and very
    very fresh! This
    post really made
    me smile and I
    love how the toms
    all coordinate with
    the table cloth. YOU
    are a fashion photographer
    extraordinaire!
    xx Suzanne

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  15. your tomatoes are gorgeous! We've been loving a Snow White tomato this year!

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  16. Because we are back and forth from our home to vacation home over the summer, I've never grown tomatoes. But those look so good, I just may have to try. Love the fabric you used in the photos -- just perfect colors with the tomatoes.

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  17. I just go in the garden and eat tomatoes. I don't bother my hubby asking which plant is which! I just adore 'em all! :) Thanks for sharing! We'll hve to try some of these next year!

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  18. This was the most adorable post! My favorite tomato by far this summer were our jelly bean tomatoes. They were meaty with just the right amount of juice. Delicious! I ate them like grapes - all.summer.long. I shall miss them...

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  19. okay, don't take this the wrong way, but WHERE WERE YOU MONTHS AGO??? I think, in my humble opinion, that you should re-post this next spring so that we can then benefit from your experience and end our summers with a fabulous assortment as well~
    (well, that is, if we would ever get enough sun to have our tomatoes ripen... I have endless green tomatoes right now!)
    xx

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