10-martha-tomato-portrait-68653-d112503.jpg   Harvest Time: Tomatoes are ready to be picked when they yield to the slightest tug. To make sure the ripe fruit doesn't get bruised or damaged in transport, carefully place the tomatoes on rimmed baking sheets instead of stacking them. | Credit: John Kernick

George and Ira Gershwin’s 1937 song “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off” gets one thing right: “You like tomato and I like tomahto.” One of the most loved, used, and grown fruits, the tomato is also one of the most versatile. It can be consumed raw – right off the vine – or chopped and sliced in myriad salads. It can be dried, oven-roasted, baked into tarts, pureed into soups, milled into sauces, squeezed into juice, cooked into ketchup, or sweetened into jam. And it can also be frozen and canned to be enjoyed months later. I learned about tomatoes and the art of growing them from my father. A backyard gardener, Dad grew an inordinate number of tomato plants on his fifth of an acre. And he somehow managed to grow impeccable, blemish-free two-to-four-pound tomatoes in his fertile garden. His favorite variety was Big Boy, a hybrid Burpee introduced in 1949. 07-tomato-glossary-68582-d112503.jpg Credit: John Kernick Today, in my garden, I also grow almost too many plants, experimenting with new hybrids, old standbys, and many heirlooms. I’m always searching for that perfect, amazing, juicy, edible, usable fruit that the Italians so aptly named pomodoro – or “apple of gold.” Like my dad, I too grow Big Boy, and also Better Boy, Early Girl, Beefsteak, Pink Brandywine, Green Zebra, Roma VF, and Mortgage Lifter, as well as several smaller cherry- and pear-shaped types. For the effort growing tomatoes requires, the rewards are, in my mind, stupendous! Just take a cellar of coarse sea salt with you at harvest time. Pick a few of your very best. Sit down (the ground will do), sprinkle them with salt, take a bite, and enjoy the fruit of the gods! Four Ways to Preserve To get the most out of all the varieties I grow, I preserve tomatoes for use throughout the year. Here are four basic methods. tomato-how-to-297-d112616.jpg Credit: Marcus Nilsson 1. OVEN-DRIED TOMATOES These add depth of flavor to any recipe. Use them straight from the freezer on pizzas and focaccias with your favorite cheese, or work them into pasta recipes. Get Martha’s Oven-Dried Tomatoes Recipe tomato-how-to-271-d112616.jpg Credit: Marcus Nilsson 2. TOMATO PUREE Milling tomatoes makes a versatile base for soups, stews, and sauces, like simple marinara. Freeze the puree and you’ll be able to use it for up to a year. Get the Tomato Puree Recipe Get Martha’s Simple Marinara Recipe tomato-how-to-307-d112616.jpg Credit: Marcus Nilsson 3. TOMATO WATER When milling tomatoes, don’t discard the pulp and seeds – instead, save them to make tomato water. Packed with concentrated flavor, tomato water captures the essence of this summer fruit, giving dishes from cocktails to soups a sweet boost. Add a splash to a martini for a refreshing twist on the classic. Or freeze it into ice cubes to enhance a Bloody Mary. Pour in a few spoonfuls to perk up a salad dressing or gazpacho. Get the Tomato Water Recipe tomato-how-to-275-d112616.jpg Credit: Marcus Nilsson 4. TOMATO CONFIT Slow-cooking tomatoes in oil, garlic, and herbs intensifies their natural flavor and perfumes them with aromatics. Try varieties like Early Girl, Noire Russe, and Better Boy. Get the Tomato Confit Recipe

10-martha-tomato-portrait-68653-d112503.jpg   Harvest Time: Tomatoes are ready to be picked when they yield to the slightest tug. To make sure the ripe fruit doesn't get bruised or damaged in transport, carefully place the tomatoes on rimmed baking sheets instead of stacking them. | Credit: John Kernick

10-martha-tomato-portrait-68653-d112503.jpg Harvest Time: Tomatoes are ready to be picked when they yield to the slightest tug. To make sure the ripe fruit doesn’t get bruised or damaged in transport, carefully place the tomatoes on rimmed baking sheets instead of stacking them. | Credit: John Kernick

10-martha-tomato-portrait-68653-d112503.jpg

Harvest Time: Tomatoes are ready to be picked when they yield to the slightest tug. To make sure the ripe fruit doesn’t get bruised or damaged in transport, carefully place the tomatoes on rimmed baking sheets instead of stacking them. | Credit: John Kernick

| Credit: John Kernick

George and Ira Gershwin’s 1937 song “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off” gets one thing right: “You like tomato and I like tomahto.” One of the most loved, used, and grown fruits, the tomato is also one of the most versatile. It can be consumed raw – right off the vine – or chopped and sliced in myriad salads. It can be dried, oven-roasted, baked into tarts, pureed into soups, milled into sauces, squeezed into juice, cooked into ketchup, or sweetened into jam. And it can also be frozen and canned to be enjoyed months later.

I learned about tomatoes and the art of growing them from my father. A backyard gardener, Dad grew an inordinate number of tomato plants on his fifth of an acre. And he somehow managed to grow impeccable, blemish-free two-to-four-pound tomatoes in his fertile garden. His favorite variety was Big Boy, a hybrid Burpee introduced in 1949.

07-tomato-glossary-68582-d112503.jpg   Credit: John Kernick

Today, in my garden, I also grow almost too many plants, experimenting with new hybrids, old standbys, and many heirlooms. I’m always searching for that perfect, amazing, juicy, edible, usable fruit that the Italians so aptly named pomodoro – or “apple of gold.” Like my dad, I too grow Big Boy, and also Better Boy, Early Girl, Beefsteak, Pink Brandywine, Green Zebra, Roma VF, and Mortgage Lifter, as well as several smaller cherry- and pear-shaped types.

For the effort growing tomatoes requires, the rewards are, in my mind, stupendous! Just take a cellar of coarse sea salt with you at harvest time. Pick a few of your very best. Sit down (the ground will do), sprinkle them with salt, take a bite, and enjoy the fruit of the gods!

Four Ways to Preserve

To get the most out of all the varieties I grow, I preserve tomatoes for use throughout the year. Here are four basic methods.

tomato-how-to-297-d112616.jpg   Credit: Marcus Nilsson
  1. OVEN-DRIED TOMATOES

These add depth of flavor to any recipe. Use them straight from the freezer on pizzas and focaccias with your favorite cheese, or work them into pasta recipes.

tomato-how-to-271-d112616.jpg   Credit: Marcus Nilsson
  1. TOMATO PUREE

Milling tomatoes makes a versatile base for soups, stews, and sauces, like simple marinara. Freeze the puree and you’ll be able to use it for up to a year.

Get the Tomato Puree Recipe

tomato-how-to-307-d112616.jpg   Credit: Marcus Nilsson
  1. TOMATO WATER

When milling tomatoes, don’t discard the pulp and seeds – instead, save them to make tomato water. Packed with concentrated flavor, tomato water captures the essence of this summer fruit, giving dishes from cocktails to soups a sweet boost. Add a splash to a martini for a refreshing twist on the classic. Or freeze it into ice cubes to enhance a Bloody Mary. Pour in a few spoonfuls to perk up a salad dressing or gazpacho.

tomato-how-to-275-d112616.jpg   Credit: Marcus Nilsson
  1. TOMATO CONFIT

Slow-cooking tomatoes in oil, garlic, and herbs intensifies their natural flavor and perfumes them with aromatics. Try varieties like Early Girl, Noire Russe, and Better Boy.

07-tomato-glossary-68582-d112503.jpg Credit: John Kernick

07-tomato-glossary-68582-d112503.jpg

Credit: John Kernick

tomato-how-to-297-d112616.jpg Credit: Marcus Nilsson

tomato-how-to-297-d112616.jpg

Credit: Marcus Nilsson

tomato-how-to-271-d112616.jpg Credit: Marcus Nilsson

tomato-how-to-271-d112616.jpg

tomato-how-to-307-d112616.jpg Credit: Marcus Nilsson

tomato-how-to-307-d112616.jpg

tomato-how-to-275-d112616.jpg Credit: Marcus Nilsson

tomato-how-to-275-d112616.jpg