How to Tell if a Tomato is Perfectly Ripe
"Xitomatl" is the Aztec name for tomatoes that translates wonderfully to "plump thing with a navel." And summer is the time for some serious navel gazing.
SO YOU FIND YOURSELF standing, motionless, in the produce department of your local grocery store or at the farmstand befuddled by the mounds of Big Boys, Early Girl Mortgage Lifters, bunches of Romas with their tangles of green vines. And you wonder, “How the hell do I know which is a perfectly ripe tomato?”
You’ve come to the right guy because I have a long and contentious relationship with tomatoes. How can a person have a relationship with a tomato, contentious or otherwise, you ask?
Easy.
When I was a maudlin, pudgy 14-year-old, my dad, a plain-talking, straightforward kind of man, believed that the antidote to my near-catatonic state was soul- and bone-crushing farm work, blistering sunshine, and a few cases of poison ivy would lift my mood in no time. Bless his heart. Of course, he was wrong. No amount of sunshine, sore muscles, or bouts of an itchy ass were a match for crippling clinical depression.
But during my three-summer stint at the farm, I learned a lot about vegetables, especially tomatoes. They were kind of a prized crop because they required a lot more work to pick, wash, package, and ship than, say, a crate of cabbage.
So I bequeath unto you the sum of my knowledge about how to pick perfectly xitomatl—an Aztec term that translates quite wonderfully as "plump thing with a navel."
1. Check for Firm-ish-ness
A ripe tomato should feel firm, like a silken orb of loveliness. But at the same time, it should be soft enough to yield to a gentle press of your thumb. Grope it if you must but do not squeeze it!
2. Feel the Tomato’s Weight
You want your tomatoes to be plump for their size. (Why can’t the same be said for people?!) A heavier love apple is a juicier love apple. And juicy is good, especially if you’re making a sauce. Try a raw tomato sauce made with perfectly ripe tomatoes. Summer on a plate.
3. Make Sure Your Tomato is Blemish-Free
A tomato worth its weight in greenbacks should have a Clearasil complexion. No blemishes or dark spots. Either of these indicates that the fruit (yup, tomatoes are, indeed, a fruit) may be rotten inside.
Now, I’m not talking about the nicks and scars that are the normal part of a tomato’s life. Nor am I referring to the beautifully irregular coloring of heirloom tomatoes. I’m referring to black soft spots on a tomato or bullseye spots with white centers. If you see them, toss the tomatoes.
4. Sniff Your Tomato for a Heady Perfume
This one is a bit controversial. Grab your fresh tomato, nestle your nose in the cleavage where it meets the stem, and take a whiff. It should be fragrant. Be careful not to confuse the smell of the vine or stem itself, as that’s wicked strong and, to me, off-putting.
Some farmers describe it as “sweet.” Others call it “woodsy.” To me, a ripe, just-picked tomato has a slight ketchup-y aroma.
Tell me below what are your favorite dishes to make with fresh, obscenely ripe tomatoes!
How to Use Your Windfall of Tomatoes
Now that you know how to pick a ripe tomato, you won’t be able to resist bringing home a basket full. What to do? Here are a few ideas:
My № 1 Favorite Summer Tomato Dish
For the past several years, nearly every day in July and August, The One has walked into the house with bowls full of the most amazing tomatoes. (Me, I’ve sadly had to stay out of the garden due to a pernicious and long-standing bout with Lyme disease.) And while we’ve done everything under the sun to use them up—homemade tomato ketchup, baked tarts, tomato sorbet, raw tomato sauce, you name it—we still ended up with piles on the kitchen table.
Nothing compares to the taste of fresh tomatoes (although I can do without the gooey seedy part as I’m not a fan of that texture). So I came up with the simplest of simple recipes: Fresh Tomato Tart (above).
I used my favorite herbed crust, some goat cheese, slices of profanely plump and juicy tomatoes, and a pesto vinaigrette. Terrific anytime in summer, whether you devour it as lunch, a starter, even a midnight nosh.
If You Have Overripe Tomatoes…
In the event you took pity on that basket of orphaned overripe tomatoes for half price, you can hold them in the fridge for a few days. And you know what that means–BLTs for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. if you can’t chow your way through them all, try your hand at making homemade tomato paste (above). Or an easy freezer tomato sauce (below).
Tell me below what are your favorite dishes to make with fresh, obscenely ripe tomatoes!
What About Green Tomatoes?
So what do you do if that hippyish grandma who buzzed about the farmstand in a cloud of patchouli was actually a shrewd businesswoman who loaded the bottom half of that basket of gorgeous Orphan Annie tomatoes with of hard, green orbs?
Besides cursing (or admiring) her financial prowess, you can turn your bounty into stunning pickled green tomatoes. And, of course, fried green tomatoes are an eponymous treat to munch on while watching the movie of the same name.
Whatever you bake, can, blister, sizzle, slice, or squeeze, enjoy this marvelous season of the love apple. It’s a fleeting summer romance you can have without cheating on your The One.
Chow,
I make a gratin with tomatoes, zucchini/yellow squash, bread crumbs and cheese. Season with oregano, salt, pepper and basil for starters. Just layer it up like lasagna. It's different every time because of what toms and squashes I have on hand. It comes out all nice and bubbly. I have also added sweet onions and don't forget the garlic too. :)
We grow our own tomatoes. Lucky us! Cherokee Purple are the best. I love to make Frankie Avalon's Chicken Cacciatore recipe with these tomatoes, so fresh, so delicious! Thank you for your post, David!