Plants & Bulbs

» Georgene A. Bramlage - What is your Favorite Heirloom Tomato...

I can't say heirloom tomatoes are "loved" in my household

One Saturday, two summers back I shopped at our local Farmers' Market. One of the "younger farmers" had a display of heirloom tomatoes where one oculd sample them. They tasted so great, and he was so enthusiastic and so much fun to talk with that I bought a great many varieties to serve at a picnic later that day.

When I began to set them out as part of a do-it-yourself salad, my husband (an old-time farmer if thee ever was one) said in horror "Surely, you are not going to serve those?!!!" Anyone knowing what heirloom tomatoes look like can mentally compare them with "Big Boys" or some such hybrid...which is what my husband was comparing them with.

"Oh," I said rather innocently. "Yes...that's what they are supposed to look like. Taste a piece." Needless to say, all the tomatoes were eaten by my guests with gusto, and along with the foccacio and herbed-olive oil became the tolking points of the evening.

Can't say I am exactly the "hostess with the mostess;" don't remember what the rest of the meal even consisted of! But that was the last discussion husband and I ever had about the "looks" of heirloom tomatoes!

Because there are just the two of us here at home now, we do not a vegetable garden anymore. However, it is so much fun to try a little of this or a little of that from vendors at Farmers' Markets and roadside stands. We are lucky here in western MA to have vegetable growers who, for the most part, like to experiment and try for various "niche markets."

Cheers and happy eating!

Georgene