For Love of Tomatoes
A new season started this week at We Grow, tomato season. We will pick these delicious, versatile fruits every three days, now through first frost. Some days we will harvest upwards of one thousand pounds. It seems like a lot, but imagine everything we can make with tomatoes besides simply eating them fresh – pasta sauce, soup, ketchup, enchilada/taco sauce, juice, steak sauce, salsa, and the list goes on! If you find yourself with an over abundance of tomatoes, just toss them in the freezer whole and raw. When you get them back out, run them under warm water to remove the peeling if your recipe requires such and you are ready to cook with them. No more blanching! This technique has been invaluable to us as we freeze a small amount each week and then process them when the days get cooler.
We are growing 37 different varieties of heirloom and open pollinated tomatoes in 2017. Plus, we have ten varieties in the UW Madison Seed to Kitchen trials and five in the Organic Seed Alliance trials. Heirlooms come in many colors from pink and red to yellow or even indigo. Rather than rely on color to determine ripeness, simply squeeze the tomato for firmness. When they start to soften, they are at maximum flavor.
Our flavorful blend of heirloom tomatoes makes amazing recipes and are available to members first, so please let us know how many pounds you would like, what you need them for (juice or sauce), and when you would like them. We can deliver with your share or at market, or you can get them on the farm any day of the week. Make your requests now so you get on our picking calendar. We do not offer tomatoes by the bushel as we have found this is very inconsistent amounts. Bushels of tomatoes all weigh different amounts based on their variety, the size of the tomato, and who is packing the box. We simply offer them by the pound. For recipes, figure a bushel is about 50 lbs. Farm members pay $1.00 per lb when you take $25 lb minimum. All non-members must have 50 lb minimum for this rate.
Rolling into some new crops,
