#tomaotes

🍅Disclaimer: some of this is opinion and most of it is scientific stuff possibly misremembered by a nonscientist. That's right, I know nothing about science. But I have a garden. In which I grow tomatoes, amongst other things.🍅

Okay, so, not sure where to start on this. First of all, tomatoes? A superior plant. Its a fruit, its a vegetable, its so versatile and they taste hecking delicious. (Btw, the difference between vegetable and fruit is irrelevant scientifically, its just a culinary distinction).

So the very bestest tomatoes are grown directly in the ground. You can taste the difference when the plant has had the chance to absorb all its nutrients from the soil. I'm not I scientist or anything, so I don't really know why, but I swear you can taste the dirt. That doesn't sound like a good thing, but it is, I promise. When a tomato ripens in the sun, its just better, okay? Something about chlorophyll and sugar or something. I slept through middle school science.

Heirloom tomatoes are non-hybrid tomatoes that, when planted straight from seed, produce tomatoes that are consistent to their progenitors. These tomatoes have been produced for generations by gardeners and farmers, cultivated for specific traits. There are sweeter or savory tomatoes, but regardless of flavor profile, all heirloom tomatoes will be much more flavorful than hybrid tomatoes.

On the downside, heirlooms are much less resistant to disease, drought, etc and have a shorter shelf life. (Its worth the trade off though, trust me.)

Hybrid tomatoes are created from different strains of tomato plant, bred together for specific traits. Hybrid tomato seeds are a bit of a crap shoot as far as what kind of tomato you'll get, or even if they'll grow at all, as many hybrids produce seeds that will not grow, as they are sterile.

For some reason, many hybrid tomatoes are not created for flavor, but rather for more superficial traits like size and color. In breeding for drought and disease resistance, bright red color, huge size, and long shelf life, taste was sacrificed.

The tomato you find in your grocery store might as well be an entirely different plant as far as I'm concerned. Many of these tomatoes are essentially just bright red water balloons. They are flavorless monstrosities and they give tomatoes a bad name. If you've never had a proper tomato, you're really missing out. The depth of flavor is extraordinary. I like to just eat them on their own, as anything else distrracts from the taste. I'm personally partial to the savory ones, they're great in stews or sauces.

Grocery store produce is also artificially ripened! Which means that they dont get all the flavor benefits of sitting in the sun and ripening naturally.

But what do we do with this information!? Buy better tomatoes! Sometimes decent tomatoes can be found in a grocery store. Or a farmer's market, which is even better because youre supporting local growers. Dont have access to a farmers market or decent grocery store tomatoes? Grow them yourself! You can even grow tomatoes in a pot, google it. Pro tip: its easier if you start with the little baby plants rather than a seed. I like beefsteak tomatoes. Big and gorgeous. And delicious, of course.

I truly believe the vast majority of people who dont like tomatoes just havent had a proper tomato. I freakin love tomatoes, dude. Its a shame that so many of them taste like literal air.

Anyway.

Here's an article that explains some of this stuff with real live science!!

Once again, take all the science info in this post with a grain of salt, 'cause I realky just have no clue what I'm talking about.