Jersey Tomatos

[rlibkind]

Iovine's at the Reading Terminal Market has had Jersey tomatos for a week and a half, and they are the real thing. Mis-shapen, scarred, but plump, heavy, red, ripe and delicious. The true taste of summer.

Not cheap at $2.49, but such a welcome treat.

Is it my imagination or are some items earlier this year? Late last week I picked up sweet, tender silver corn at the Fair Food Farmstand (50 cents an ear, $2.50 a half dozen) from a local farmer (he brought them to the market himself Friday morning), and Benuel Kauffman had Lancaster County corn at the same price. It seems about two weeks too early for such excellent corn -- the corn wasn't immature, just young and sweet.

PS: Benuel's "long" beets are exceptionally sweet. Wrap them individually in foil and roast them on the grill for 40-60 minutes.

[KatieLoeb]

Wow - those are early! I usually don't begin to feed my Jersey Tomato Jones until at least mid-July. Must have been the unusually warm weather in early spring...

But now that I know they're in, I'll have to get some this week and make a killer Greek salad with crumbled Bulgarian feta from Bitar's and some good looking cukes from the Head House market. Yummmmm....

[enrevanche]

Aw, yeah! It's gazpacho time.

And the local sweet corn is coming in, too? Wow. I had to work this weekend, and missed my Saturday trip to the Greenmarket. Now I'm really kicking myself.

[Boris_A]

Mis-shapen, scarred, but plump, heavy, red, ripe and delicious. The true taste of summer.

As a suggestion by someone who never has eaten them:

They could make an excellent base for a pasta dish originating in the Campania region around Naples: Pasta with crude tomato sauce. The tomatos need to be absolutely ripe, of course.

After peeling and deseeding (but keep all liquidity) and cuttting in small cubes or thin sticks, marinate the tomatos with som basilic leafs, a bit EVOO and two squashed garlick cloves for some 10 minutes. Take out the garlick. Add salt and pepper.

Mix with still very hot, boiled pasta (fetuccine, linguine, ziti, penne, etc.) . Serve wihtout parmigiano. Irresitible.

Edited for 8 typos

Edited June 28, 2004 by Boris_A (log)

[Rich Pawlak]

Iovine's at the Reading Terminal Market has had Jersey tomatos

"Er, Mr. Quayle, I think there's supposed to be an 'e' in there somewhere."

[rlibkind]

Iovine's at the Reading Terminal Market has had Jersey tomatos

"Er, Mr. Quayle, I think there's supposed to be an 'e' in there somewhere."

I sit kerwreckted.

[glepore]

Ugly Jersey's for .99 lb yesterday. Excellent eating, esp w/ some the of the huge basil from the organic veggie lady.

[KatieLoeb]

Mis-shapen, scarred, but plump, heavy, red, ripe and delicious. The true taste of summer.

As a suggestion by someone who never has eaten them:

They could make an excellent base for a pasta dish originating in the Campania region around Naples: Pasta with crude tomato sauce. The tomatos need to be absolutely ripe, of course.

After peeling and deseeding (but keep all liquidity) and cuttting in small cubes or thin sticks, marinate the tomatos with som basilic leafs, a bit EVOO and two squashed garlick cloves for some 10 minutes. Take out the garlick. Add salt and pepper.

Mix with still very hot, boiled pasta (fetuccine, linguine, ziti, penne, etc.) . Serve wihtout parmigiano. Irresitible.

Edited for 8 typos

Boris:

We could mail you some Jersey tomatoes! Since you haven't had the pleasure I thought I'd include this:

The Jerseys are the two very large ugly misshapen ones toward the top of the picture.

In summer you can eat these out of hand like an apple. Or thick sliced with just a sprinkle of sea salt. They are absolutely the best tasting tomatoes on earth. Not sure if it's the soil or climate in NJ that makes it so, but whatever it is, it is consistent from year to year.

[Boris_A]

They are absolutely the best tasting tomatoes on earth.  Not sure if it's the soil or climate in NJ that makes it so, but whatever it is, it is consistent from year to year.

Thank you for the pictures!

We should be glad for all the truly great season vegetables or fruit, which are not disposable all year round. One has to wait for a full year - and then they are here, often for a short time only! The austerity of the long wait even increases our pleasure!

My recipe suggestion is pure speculation, of course. Sometimes, it sautée sautée the tomatoes for 2-3 minutes in butter or EVOO. The idea is to preserve as much fresh taste as possible, of course.

[lancastermike]

Here in Lancaster County local sweet corn has been available since June 26. Fred Funk from Funk's farm market told me it is second earliest he has had corn in 30 some years. Washington Borough tomatoes, which are the best around, are due this week my sources tell me and there may be some in now. Funk also reportes to me that peaches are doing great and will also be early. The strawberry crop is here and gone and last year they had none until July 3. Farmers up here are thrilled with the weather this year and yields for field and table crops are expected to be near all time highs. A wonderful time of year here in Lancaster surounded by all this great produce. The tomatoes in my yard are coming along as well but will not be ready for a while. My first time growing at our new house. I was worried about lack of sun but they are doing fine.

[Holly Moore]

Here in Lancaster County local sweet corn has been available since June 26.

Greetings Lancaster Mike. How about some names/addresses of the Lancaster County farmers markets where their local produce comes from their own fields and which don't target on the hoardes of tourists?

Thanks.

[fiftydollars]

I hate all of you!

Here in CA there are no tomatoes in sight. I have searched feverishly for anything that remotely approximates a properly flavorful tomato and all of my efforts have been for naught. All the while I hear reports from out of state sources that tomatoes are here and wonderful.

All of you should be ashamed of yourselves.

[andiesenji]

I hate all of you!

Here in CA there are no tomatoes in sight. I have searched feverishly for anything that remotely approximates a properly flavorful tomato and all of my efforts have been for naught. All the while I hear reports from out of state sources that tomatoes are here and wonderful.

All of you should be ashamed of yourselves.

If you are in driving distance of Santa Monica go to the Farmer's Market (I doubt there will be an errant driver running down a bunch of people and stands now).

One of the girls who works in my office went last Wednesday and found some great tomatoes and other produce. They have 4 markets a week at different sites.

You can tune in to  KCRW-FM 89.9 at 11 a.m. every Saturday, for a report on what foods are in the markets.

Edited July 2, 2004 by andiesenji (log)

[fiftydollars]

Thanks andiesenji!

I don't hate you, anymore.

But as far as the rest of you...

I heard Eric Ziebold, formerly 2nd in command at the French Laundry and now EC at a new venture at the Mandarin Oriental in DC, talk about how tomatoes in his native Iowa have thinner skins than California tomatoes. That's why he recommended that the skin be removed on all CA tomatoes for all applications. He said he even does it when he makes a BLT at home.

Do Jersey tomatoes have thick skins?

[mrbigjas]

Depends on the variety.

[KatieLoeb]

Do Jersey tomatoes have thick skins?

Depends on the variety.

That's a good question. I don't know that I've ever actually cooked what *I* call a "Jersey Tomato" (see above photo for my personal reference point). I've always just eaten them in salads, on sandwiches or literally out of hand like an apple. Yes - there are many varieties of "Jersey Tomatoes" that are grown in NJ, but always thought the "Jersey Tomatoes" were the big assed Ugly Duckling mishappen mutant looking ones that come out in summer and taste amazing.

Any of you New Jerseyites familiar enough with the species to clarify this issue?

[Holly Moore]

I have grown more and more disenchanted with Jersey Tomatoes over the past few years. It has gotten so that I'll only buy them at the smallest of farm stands. My favorite is deep in South Jersey (I think on the same road as Uncle Dewey's BBQ) where there's a small unmanned stand with a couple of baskets of tomatoes, an umbrella to protect them, and an honor can to leave your payment. These tomatoes have never disappointed.

I shared my woe with the guy at the Headhouse Farmers Market who is driving up his field grown tomatoes from Virginia. "Jersey's," he said with scorn. "Tonnage. They grow them for tonnage. Not flavor. You can only plant so many tomatoes on an acre and have them taste good. I grow mine for taste."

It's sad. But the majority of Jersey tomatoes seem to have gone the way of the delicious apple.

[rlibkind]

The first couple times I spied, bought and consume the Jersey tomatoes at Iovine's they were what Jimmy Iovine later described as "Number Ones." He priced them at $2.49 a pound. Apparently, he either had complaints about the price or couldn't make enough profit on it, because he now has what he says are "Number Twos" priced at $0.99. Not quite as tasty, but still decent.

Perhaps, Holly, that's what you've experienced: not all Jerseys are created equal, as you so noted.

[lancastermike]

Holly,

Funks Farm Market is on s duke st in Millersville, I remember when it was a roadside stand. Now it is a pretty big place, but the stuff is locally grown and tasty.

In Washington Borough there are lots of road side stands selling tomatoes. Rt 999 goes west out of Lancaster thru Millersville to Washington Borough which is nestled right along the Susquehanna which produces a good micro climate for tomatoes. Some of the best tomatoes I ever had I bought from a boy with a table set up in his front yard on Blue Rock Rd.

Although not as numerous as in past days driving through farm country both east and west of Lancaster you will find stands with honor box with farm fresh produce.

Brooklawn Farms which is on State st near E petersburg has wonderful corn.

The Lancaster Central Farmers market used to be full of local produce. Many ofthosestands have closed with produce being brought in by distributors. There are two local stands still selling but they are small and sell out quockly.

I live in Millersville west of Lancaster and am morefarmiliar with places on this end. The east end of the county is were the Amish live and I don't gothere but there is lot's of roadside produce there.

Years ago I bought corn from a farmer who picked it only hours before I bought. That farm is within a mile of my house. In the last 8 or9 years it now has several hundred homes on it. There is still plenty offarmland near me,but lessand less every year

[Mottmott]

I shared my woe with the guy at the Headhouse Farmers Market who is driving up his field grown tomatoes from Virginia.  "Jersey's," he said with scorn.  "Tonnage. They grow them for tonnage.  Not flavor.  You can only plant so many tomatoes on an acre and have them taste good.  I grow mine for taste."

Alas, I always get lost in Jersey, so it's the tomatoes from Virginia for me. They're really pretty good. I did get a couple Jersey's from Iovine's yesterday for comparison, but I haven't tried them yet.

I do wonder sometimes, is it that so many foods are worse than they used to be or is it just nostalgia and a sign of passing years? I can remember as a child when a farmer used to bring corn in every day in the summer and I would walk a couple miles to bring some home in time for dinner, when it was safe for a child to walk those miles for a few ears of corn.

[Holly Moore]

Lancaster Mike,

Thanks for the great list.

[mrbigjas]

So here's my question: when people talk about New Jersey tomatoes, are they talking about a breed, or where they're grown? Does a roma grown in washington township count as a jersey tomato? If it's a breed, does a jersey tomato grown in bucks county count?

[lancastermike]

This weekend at Washington Borough park at intersection of Rts 441 and 999 is the Tomato Festival. A small community festival with food games and other thing but especially tomatoes. Drove down to Washington Borough last night and got a couple and they are real good this year, this is a fun little local even and anyone looking for something to do would, I think, enjoy it. The park is right along the Susquehanna river

[menton1]

Good Jersey Tomatoes need heat. The very cool June we had may affect this year's crop.. Regardless, the best tomatoes don't appear until at the earliest mid-August, and this year probably later. The tomatoes available now are probably tasteless.

[mrbigjas]

The tomatoes I've been getting from Kauffman's have been anything but tasteless.