Description
Looking for a big hearty flavorful tomato with lots of meat and little pulp? Then these are the tomatoes for you. In our aquaponic farms they grow so fast and big they tend to split that tops. For this reason we pick them a little early and allow them to completely ripen on your Kitchen counter. You can choose the day and ripeness that best suits your taste and needs. Who knew, a tomato with versatility.
Nutritional Benefits
Tomatoes are considered to be the most important non-starchy vegetable in the American diet, according to some health researchers. (1) Why? Because of the power of tomato nutrition.
Did you know that it’s believed over 7,500 different tomato species are grown around the world today? You’ve probably heard before that, botanically speaking, tomatoes are actually a fruit and not a vegetable. In fact, technically they’re considered berries, although strangely a long-standing United States law dating back to the late 1800s classifies them as a vegetable.
Tomatoes have a long history dating back thousands of years to around the time of 500 B.C. in Mexico, where they were a staple crop for the Aztecs and eaten along with beans and corn. Aztecs and other peoples in the Mesoamerica area used the slightly sweet “fruit” in many diverse ways and even held tomatoes in high spiritual regard. Tomato seeds were believed to be “blessed with powers of divination.”
Tomatoes are one of those easy-to-use anti-inflammatory foods that luckily taste great, too. What are the health benefits of tomatoes? According to the Department of Food Sciences at North Carolina State University, in regard to a study on tomato nutrition, “Tomatoes are the second most produced and consumed vegetable nationwide and are a rich source of lycopene, beta-carotene, folate, potassium, vitamin C, flavonoids, and vitamin E.” (2)
- Loaded with cancer-fighting antioxidants
- Acts as a natural anti-inflammatory
- Helps improve heart health
- Helps protect vision and eye health
- Benefits Skin Health
- Helps protect bone health
Recipes
Proper Storage
Your tomatoes are best stored on the Kitchen counter. We recommend placing them stem side down on a paper towel in a bowl, so that should any become ripe and leak, it is contained. HOWEVER, Ripe tomatoes can be stored in your refrigerator to slow the ripening to expand their life a bit.
One thing to note is that tomatoes give off ethylene gas, which causes other fruits and vegetables in your refrigerator to ripen much faster and significantly shortening their shelf life.
Helpful Info
Cracks on the top of tomatoes are because they grew too quickly and the skin split. This isn't bad, however you don't want mold or other bacteria growing in the nutrient rich cracks of your tomatoes. You can help this by spraying a food safe disinfectant on the cracks and rinsing off after ten minutes.