Fresh Tomatoes: Love 'em or hate 'em?

[MSRadell]

Since it's becoming the season for fresh tomatoes I wanted to see how many people really don't like them.  Neither my wife nor I like a fresh tomato of any type with the possible exception of fried green tomatoes!  We love everything made with tomatoes, tomato sauces etc. but really despise eating tomatoes or tomato slices.  We both feel it's a texture thing and have begun to realize that there are actually a lot of us out there who don't like them.  We tried everything from heirloom to Roma to Franken and have yet found one that we can enjoy eating in any way.

 

 

How many others have the same feeling about fresh tomatoes?

Edited September 24, 2023 by Smithy
Adjusted title for clarity (log)

[Anna N]

My number two son will not touch fresh tomatoes. Canned tomatoes, tomato sauces are no problem put fresh tomatoes no no no.

[Shelby]

OMG I can't imagine.  I swear, you try a homegrown Kansas tomato and it would change your mind.  But, if it doesn't, just send all those fresh 'maters to me

[Deryn]

Caprese salad, panzanella salad and sandwiches with bacon, lettuce, tomato - not sure how I would make those without fresh tomatoes.

 

On the other hand, I won't buy them in winter - and so far, I am very disappointed this year even with organic tomatoes, supposedly vine ripened (but which stay like plastic for ages it seems). Haven't planted my own yet. I will probably only get to grow cherry or grape sized ones this year though - the season will be so late in starting for me.

 

Shelby - send me some of those Kansas homegrowns please!

Edited June 8, 2015 by Deryn (log)

[Alex]

There are a number of interesting articles hanging out in the tubes about texture issues and food; just Google "food texture issues tomatoes" (without the quotation marks). Some are about picky eating in general, which obviously is not the OP's situation.

 

There's this one from, coincidentally enough, summertomato.com: "It's a Texture Thing: How to Get Over Slimy, Spongy, and Other Unfamiliar Food Textures"

 

To implement this on your own, try to think of a food you enjoy with a similar texture as one you don’t like. For instance, instead of associating a tomato with snot (I lost track of the number of people who have told me this), try pudding, egg yolk or a fruit smoothie. If your brain can only come up with gross things, try asking a friend for help.

 

Ms. Alex also has some texture issues -- primarily with olives, raw oysters, and, sometimes, rice (aka "slimy") noodles -- but not with tomatoes, though.

[radtek]

I count myself among those that have a problem with fresh tomatoes. By themselves that is. Ripe tomatoes need salt, pepper, raw onion and an acid. Or salty fat- like on a BLT. Or as a condiment/garnish. But just the thought of a lovely tomato by itself makes me a bit queasy. Even one out of my garden. The texture to be sure but also there's a vegetal aspect that doesn't appeal to me- especially from what's available at the market.

[kayb]

I love a ripe tomato more than just about anything in the world, but my No. 1 daughter won't touch them. I craved them and ate them constantly for the last  four months I was pregnant with her; I think I burnt her out in utero.

[BeeZee]

DH wouldn't touch a raw tomato as a kid and made his mother remove any large chunks of tomato from cooked sauce. He said it was a texture issue and outgrew that. Interestingly, his adult son seems to have the same aversion.

[scubadoo97]

It's just difficult to find really good tomatoes these days and I'm in Florida.

Grocery store tomatoes look good but have little taste. Even heirloom varieties promise more than they deliver. The Campari has been pretty good in flavor but they are quite small.

I've been enjoying tomato sandwiches lately

[IowaDee]

We were at a general store run by our local Mennonites yesterday  They had locally grown tomatoes and apparently way too many of them!  They were selling bags of 10 for 25 cents!  That's per bag, not per tomato.  They were ripe and should be used fresh within a very few days.  I'm sure there were a lot of people firing up their canning kettles and washing those jars!

We had monster blts for lunch and made fresh salsa.  Still four tomatoes left but a big salad is on the menu.  They also were selling limes, 10 for a buck.  And beautiful shallots for $2.45 a pound. That's a lot of shallots.  Always an adventure to shop there especially since we only went to buy 100 pounds of sunflower seeds to feed the birds. 

 

The store is called Dutchman's and they do have a website.  Fun place to shop.

[SylviaLovegren]

Our son's girlfriend hates the texture of tomatoes, cooked or fresh.  She says they "feel like tongues"!  She'll eat them happily if they are chopped finely or pureed. 

[Paul Bacino]

I  always look forward to that first BLT of the season..  great pleasure.

 

I prefer Purple Cherokee tomatoes..  now a dazed

[kayb]

Bacon, tomato, pimiento cheese sandwich. One of the greatest summer pleasures.

 

[radtek]

I could eat that!

[ElsieD]

Bacon, tomato, pimiento cheese sandwich. One of the greatest summer pleasures.

 

btpc sandwich.jpg

I have never heard of putting pimento cheese on a bacon and tomato sandwich. Is this cheese something you buy? (Clearly, I don't get out enough.)

[radtek]

I have never heard of putting pimento cheese on a bacon and tomato sandwich. Is this cheese something you buy? (Clearly, I don't get out enough.)

 

It's mild shredded cheddar blended with cheeze whiz and pimentos essentially. 

[heidih]

It's mild shredded cheddar blended with cheeze whiz and pimentos essentially. 

 

For a good overview check out this eG topic  http://forums.egullet.org/topic/145980-pimento-cheese/

[ElsieD]

Thanks, Heidi. I just read it.

[kayb]

ElsieD, I just saw the thread had bumped up, and I just posted my pimiento cheese recipe there. It's very much a Southern thing, and every Southern cook has his/her own recipe for pimiento cheese as well as for deviled eggs. There are about as many ways to make it as there are people who make it, but I can promise to you that I have never used Cheese Whiz in mine!