Tomato Tricks to Try

Our 8 favorite ways to savor this sweet summer crop

Issue 37: From Dana

I make the same mistake every year in my garden: I space my tomato plants too close together and by the time they’re shoulder tall and their fruit starts popping with color, I can barely walk between them to harvest my goods. I should know better by now but I just get too excited about all the different heirloom varieties and can’t help by cram them all in: Old Germans with their pink blush bottoms and golden skin; Mortgage Lifters with their heavy fruit; Purple Cherokees and tiny Sungolds; and my favorite, the sweet meaty Brandywines. 

Tomatoes are summer’s greatest gift, if you ask me, and there could be worse things to complain about than overcrowding. 

But this year I made a new mistake: I didn’t plant a garden at all because our house is being painted and my former vegetable plot is getting a steady shower of paint chips. So I’ve been hauling home tomatoes from the community garden and farmer’s market and I have to say, as sad as I am not to be able to harvest outside my kitchen door, I think the scarcity has made me appreciate them even more. 

So I wanted to share my tried and true tomato go-tos, none of which require recipes because they’re so simple. But in each their own way, they’re great for kids and other budding cooks to try, since they highlight different techniques and ways of maximizing flavor. And, by the way, even food writers get stuck in their heavy rotation rut—I’d love to know what you (and your family) does with tomatoes. Send us a note!