Tomatoes on hands originally uploaded by Skånska Matupplevelser
Last weekend following a camping trip near Clear Lake, WI it was suggested that we pick up a locally produced bacon at the nearby grocery store as it came highly recommended. With a package of tasty bacon tucked away the next logical purchase was some round, red, ripe, and really tasty tomatoes in order to create what some consider to be the taste of summer: BLTs. However, being the Upper Midwest, tomatoes are rarely available this early unless you purchase them from someone who has procured the tomatoes from a greenhouse or another state. Unfortunately, particularly in the second case, the tomatoes are cost prohibitive and they’re simply not ripe.
This NPR piece provides some real insight into the reasons why tomatoes have continued to slide downhill further and further into tasteless mediocrity over the last few decades and why no one should buy them. From the article:
“For the last 50 or more years, tomato breeders have concentrated essentially on one thing and that is yield — they want plants that yield as many or as much as possible,” writer Barry Estabrook tells Fresh Air’s Terry Gross. “They also want those fruits to be able to stand up to being harvested, packed, artificially turned orange [with ethylene gas] and then shipped away and still be holding together in the supermarket a week or 10 days later.”
[...]
“As one large Florida farmer said, ‘I don’t get paid a single cent for flavor,’ ” says Estabrook. “He said, ‘I get paid for weight. And I don’t know of any supermarket shopper who tastes her tomatoes before she puts them in her shopping cart.’ … It’s not worth commercial plant breeders’ while to breed for taste because their customers — the large farmers — don’t get paid for it.”
The article goes on to talk about how 1/3 of the tomatoes grown in the US hail from Florida, a state known for its inability to grow tomatoes naturally. This inability is due to lack of nitrogen in its sandy “soil” and an overabundance of, “insect pests, bacteria, and fungal diseases,” which require tons of fungicides, pesticides and herbicides to be applied in order to keep the tomatoes growing so that American consumers can pretend they’re eating tomatoes year round.
The BLTs made with tomatoes purchased last weekend, at a roadside stand in Stillwater while hoping for the best, were not orange but instead were nearly tasteless aside from the sharp bitter flavor which is associated with tomatoes which are hastily “ripened”. While the BLTs still provided a glimpse into the wonder of summer, they were almost ruined by that 50 year tradition of growing tomatoes for yield and weight rather than taste–saved only by the wonderful flavor of the crispy locally produced bacon laying on top.
Do you even bother with tomatoes which are produced outside of the state and outside of the usual harvest season? Does it frighten you that, as the article claims, one woman in her thirties does not ever remember tasting anything except tomatoes purchased from a grocery store? Does the thought of ethylene gas turning your tomatoes orange and not even red, turn your stomach? Whatever you have to say about the NPR article explaining the reasons for the tasteless tomato go ahead and comment on as I’d love to hear your thoughts.
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June 29th, 2011 at 7:33 am
Campari tomatoes from Costco – they have flavor!
June 29th, 2011 at 8:24 am
If I understand it, a the flavor of a tomato is locked in the moment it is picked, and that artificial process of turning them red only ensures that you are eating a green tomato in reality, which adds a tiny bit to what you already wrote.
I usually wait until I see the better restaurants in the area serving tomatoes prominently. That tells me the local farmers markets are teeming with good product and the nice thing about those? They let you try them before buying. Do this, because the product can really vary between growers. Once you find a good grower, stick with them.
There is not much better than a nice BLT in mid/late July into August after hitting the St. Paul market on Saturday or Sunday morning. Or hell, just a plate of sliced tomato with a bit of salt and pepper is enough to make my day sometimes. Or caprese, or on a burger. or over pasta with some garlic, or grilled. Oh man…
June 29th, 2011 at 8:39 am
I don’t eat tomatoes until locally grown summer tomatoes are ripe. Even in a restaurant salad I’ll pick them off and give them away. In the summer I grow them right on the deck. Right now they’re just little yellow flowers but I remain hopeful.
Some in my family do like tomatoes all year though. I buy Bushel Boy which I believe are grown in Minnesota all year long. They are grown indoors but I am told they’re still better than the ones from far away. I still don’t eat them though.
June 29th, 2011 at 8:46 am
My tomatoes are usually sun-dried. I remember the rich tasting home-grown tomatoes from when I was a kid, and I don’t like disappointment. I wonder how the heirloom tomatoes taste.
I hear these comments about much of our food in this country. It’s no wonder we struggle with weight problems when our food is so bland.
June 29th, 2011 at 8:59 am
It was my understanding that Bushel Boy brand is locally grown thus I’ve had more faith in them in the past. Sticking with them, I have some pretty tasty tomatoes, and then not so tasty. It’s been hit or miss and more miss than hit as of late. Last night cut some slices for a chicken sandwich and I could tell that the tomato was obviously not ripe yet it had a red color. Eating it was like eating flavorless fiber. I’ve written bushel boy about it. We’ll see.
I enjoy the flavor of a good tomato so much I’m considering growing some of my own. Maybe take a shot at Hydroponics.
June 29th, 2011 at 9:23 am
There was one person with (green house) tomatos at Market Fest last week. It was $5 for three tomatos but they were worth every penny.
June 29th, 2011 at 9:25 am
JTL, they out of WI near St. Croix Falls? I purchased some early in the season last year from a farm out that way there were definitely worth it.
June 29th, 2011 at 9:35 am
I’m just not much of a fresh tomato person, but the big exception for me are nice ripe heirlooms, which I tend to pick up at Mill City when they’re in season. Nothing nicer than a pretty and fresh tomato on a sandwich. :)
June 29th, 2011 at 9:37 am
I think I’m going tonight. I’ll ask her where she’s from. (Eagan Market Fest, I should have said)
My tomato plants are pretty tiny so far. Hopefully they’ll catch up.
June 29th, 2011 at 9:58 am
Interesting story. My parents were beginning their teens when the depression began, thus they were great gardeners and our family always had our own home grown luscious juicy red tomatoes, plus many other vegetables. My father would borrow space in other gardens that had the right soil mix for fantastic white radishes. I remember canning hundreds of quarts of food every fall. I agree it is very hard to find a tomato today that actually is a joy to eat and that is a shame. I experimented some last year with hydroponic radishs and I think I will try tomatoes now too after reading why they are not the same anymore. I love a great BLT also, but I add a slice or two of raw onion and a slab of sharp cheddar to make it a filling meal. Build them on chewy buns like a Panera serves or a similar roll on that order and that is good eating!
June 29th, 2011 at 10:32 am
Even though I’m not much of a locavore/only-eating-foods-in-season person, fresh tomatoes are one of the things where I do stick to that. As such I don’t usually eat fresh tomatoes or put them on anything until late summer.
June 29th, 2011 at 10:43 am
I buy Bushel Boys (which are grown hydroponically in Owatonna) when farmers’ market tomatoes aren’t availability. I also have been growing my own tomatoes in containers and I have yet to plant “too many” tomatoes — when there are more than we can eat fresh, I make and freeze tomato sauce. I’ve found there are some things that, for me, are too much trouble to grow myself — corn and yellow squash, for example — but tomatoes and herbs are definitely worth it.
June 29th, 2011 at 12:07 pm
It is a travesty what grocery stores sell under the name “tomato”.
That said, I sometimes break down and buy a box of organic grape tomatoes. There is at least a bit of flavor there.
Last week I made some crispy flour tortilla taco shells and stuffed them with halved grape tomatoes, baby greens from our garden dressed with mayo, and some crisp bacon from Clancy’s. BLT tacos. Messy, but really good.
I can’t wait until local tomato season! I am trying to put together a list of dishes that cry out for good tomatoes, so that I can remember to make them all this summer. I don’t want the first frost to arrive when I remember a favorite tomato dish.
Speaking of produce and seasons, Lorence’s strawberries are really good this year. Making a strawberry-topped shortbread-crusted lemon-mousse-filled tart for the 4th. The kid already made amazing jam and we’ve eaten them on a homemade cheesecake and on ice cream. Yum.
June 29th, 2011 at 12:26 pm
Comparison of greenhouse tomatoes: http://blogs.citypages.com/food/2011/06/bushel_boy_vs_p.php
June 29th, 2011 at 12:48 pm
I love tomatoes, they are in fact, my favorite food. I’ll eat them whenever, and with however much flavor I can get. Even in the dead of winter when they have less flavor, it’s still enough to get me by. I have six tomato plants in my yard and I can’t wait for the fresh ones, but in the meantime, I’ll deal with the less-than-awesome ones because I love them that much.
But I have never claimed to be a food snob. Though I think it’s just me, Mrs. Marcos and Whit here who aren’t food snobs…
June 29th, 2011 at 12:50 pm
Hater.
June 29th, 2011 at 2:14 pm
I’m not the hater, I’ll eat anything! Food snobs are the haters.
(Except peanut butter, who had that terrible idea? And mushrooms. Really people, they could theoretically grow between your toes. And fish. Fish are friends, not food. And pepperoni. Lame. And ketchup, tomatoes should be fresh, not slurpy. And raisins. Sour grapes should be liquid, not solid. And eggs, but that’s only because I like life. And cheddar cheese. Any yellow cheese really. Gross. And corn. Maybe I just don’t like yellow foods… And blueberries. Uck. Leave them for the deer.)
That’s it, i think. Otherwise, i’ll eat anything…
June 29th, 2011 at 6:06 pm
For the most part I don’t buy tomatoes to eat raw until they are in season. That being said, when pressed, grape tomatoes are probably the best option and locally grown greenhouse ones after that. If I need tomatoes outside of the season I generally use canned/jarred/self-frozen ones. Of course that means they’re going into some cooked dish.
June 29th, 2011 at 8:04 pm
Sadness. No tomato vendor at Market Fest this week.
June 29th, 2011 at 8:06 pm
JTL, if’ it’s the same place they pulled out of the Thursday downtown Mpls market due to lack of interest. Maybe it was the same at MF?
June 29th, 2011 at 11:42 pm
That would be too bad as she was the only person offering what she was selling. It was just one woman at a small table, but if nobody was buying there’s not much sense being there. The weather was pretty lousy last week. Bummer if that’s what drove people and her away.
July 1st, 2011 at 7:43 am
Greetings from OH, Bill! My husband and I are growing 9 heirloom varieties of tomatoes this summer in our veggie patch. Generally, we only use canned tomatoes when our own aren’t in season, although occasionally our grocery store will carry organic costoluto genovese heirloom tomatoes…pricey (and they come in funny individual sort of bumpers to protect them when they travel) but there’s no comparison between those and the other options when it comes to taste. So we splurge and hope it encourages the store to keep offering them.
July 1st, 2011 at 8:31 am
I have never eaten a heirloom tomato that was very tasty. I think they are all show.
I am willing to admit that the only times I have had that style was from a grocery store, but at 8 bucks per tomato, I was sort of thinking that price and flavor would fall into line. How wrong I was.
July 1st, 2011 at 8:39 am
Don’t buy them from the grocery stores. Buy them from people growing them in their gardens or at the Farmer’s Market. Avoid those sold by the people who claim to be Amish (I don’t know if they are or not but their booths look so commercialized I can’t help but think it’s a ruse) and stick to those selling only a few vegetables.
July 1st, 2011 at 8:44 am
Yeah, I need to give them a shot from a real grower. As you can tell, I am still ticked that I got suckered into paying 8 dollars for the most beautiful looking and tasteless piece of fruit I have ever had.
July 3rd, 2011 at 7:16 pm
dm, although I really disagree with your food “hates”, I totally agree with the sentiment. I don’t like anything orange (Hey! That includes hot house tomatoes!) Pumpkins? Carrots? Sweet potatoes? Blech.
July 3rd, 2011 at 7:22 pm
Just read the same article, Bill. It makes total sense that the soil isn’t right. Anybody who has tried to grow something under a maple tree understands that soil content is important. Also, my husband asked, “What are you doing eating tomatoes before the end of July? Not enough sun; not enough warmth.” We live in an instant gratification society. Was it Orson Wells who said, “We’ll have no wine before its time.” Or something like that. Maybe we need to be patient and wait for a decent tomato crop. And NOT from Florida.
July 4th, 2011 at 8:33 am
Michele, I hate carrots too! (But pumpkin is one of my faves.)
July 4th, 2011 at 8:37 am
Let’s simplify this… Things DM Likes:
1. Whit
2. Twins
3. Dogs
4. Pumpkin
Things DM Hates:
Basically everything else.
July 4th, 2011 at 8:50 am
Not true! I love Mrs. M too! (and tomatoes, hello, pay attention dude)
Geesh.
July 5th, 2011 at 2:30 pm
Yeah, pay attention, jack wagon!
July 5th, 2011 at 2:42 pm
Ha, Mrs. Marcos called you jack wagon!
From the other jack wagon.
July 7th, 2011 at 9:37 am
The tomato vendor was back at Eagan Market Fest this week. Their farm is in Andover (name started with an “S”, but I don’t remember what it was). They had lots of vegetables on offer this week.
I’m going to have to pace myself (or bring more money) next week. The farmer’s market is getting a lot more exciting.
Gonna have a big slice of tomato on my burger tonight.
July 7th, 2011 at 10:22 am
JTL,
I had some of those very tomatoes last night with dinner. They were wonderful.
July 7th, 2011 at 4:19 pm
Anyone visit the Farmington Farmers Market? Thursday’s three to six with these vendors: http://www.ci.farmington.mn.us/ForResidents/Farmers'Market/Vendor_List.html
curious if it would be worth the trip.
July 7th, 2011 at 4:22 pm
Mikeh,
I like the product which comes off the Hmong growers’ farms. It’s starting to be plentiful for good items like potatoes, onions, strawberries, etc. Mmm.
July 8th, 2011 at 10:16 am
received an e-mail from Bushel Boys regarding my “traumatic” tomato experience. No real comment on them about my experience, though they did offer to get me a new package from the store I got them from originally, or if i’d like, I could go down and tour their facility and the General Manger would help me select the replacements. I assume that implies they grow them here in the state.
July 8th, 2011 at 5:31 pm
Bill, Congratulations on your 5,000 comment.
July 13th, 2011 at 8:51 pm
I asked my poor husband to pick me up some grape tomatoes at Costco today (did you see the study about the importance of potassium vs. sodium?), and he proudly brought home some BOGO grape tomatoes from Cub, originally from (I stared in horror) Florida. They were very acidic and upset my stomach. My husband accused me of being a drama queen, which is fair, because I usually am. Today, I popped both containers in a plastic bag and set them out in the sun on our deck. Tonight, we tested both the Costco and the newly improved Cub variety. The Costco won hands-down, but the time in the sun really did sweeten up the Cub brand. So, if you’re budget challenged (or spouse challenged), here’s some tips: NEVER put tomatoes in the fridge, unless they’re cut. Don’t worry, the acidity in them will stop any bacteria that isn’t already IN them. Store them in a brown paper bag. And do try putting them in the sun. Unlike many other fruits and vegetables, they really can ripen off the vine.
July 13th, 2011 at 8:59 pm
Michele, thank you. Wonderful advice about tomatoes.
You may be interested in this article about sodium:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=its-time-to-end-the-war-on-salt
July 13th, 2011 at 10:28 pm
Boy, we’re still at the level of applying leeches, aren’t we, sandy?
Thanks for the article. What I remember in this article (and I don’t remember where) is that there needs to be a balance between sodium and potassium.
Caveat: there is such a thing as getting TOO much potassium, although I think that comes from using vitamins. But you can get potassium in so many ways, including tomato sauce on pizza (YAY! We’re covered!)
I’ve been grinding sea salt for years; I love the texture as much as the taste. My daughter’s roommates were totally mystified by the sea salt she put on the kitchen counter. And now they’re all hooked.
I have to think, if you KNOW what you’re eating, you’re better off.
July 13th, 2011 at 10:45 pm
We’re on the same page.
July 14th, 2011 at 7:23 am
There are way…way too many studies with highly conflicting information as well as blog articles about sodium and potassium which blatantly state things that either are not true, or are tenuous at best. Eat a balanced diet and if you are a healthy person, trust your body to regulate itself. If you’re not a healthy person, well then you know what you need to do to self regulate.