Tomatoes

Colourful choice

Gone are the days when the tomato was available in any colour, so long as it was red. Now, thanks to our rediscovery of heirloom varieties, and the development of new varieties, tomatoes can be seen hanging off their trusses in various shades of yellow, orange, green, brown, pink, purple, black, white or stripy.

Size matters

Tomatoes vary in size from the smaller cherry tomatoes to the big slicing or beef tomatoes, such as Marmande, Jack Hawkins, Alicante and Brandywine. Then there are the longer, oval-shaped plum tomatoes, which are good for stuffing because they have few seeds and firm flesh.Text

Picking a flavoursome fruit

Many cheap imported tomatoes are picked under-ripe and then artificially ripened with ethylene gas, a plant hormone that is produced naturally by fruit.

When choosing tomatoes, pick them up, feel them and smell them. Choose tomatoes that feel heavy for their size; they are more likely to be bursting with juices. Tomatoes with no smell will probably have no flavour, so opt for those with a pleasant aroma. It pays to buy the ripest tomatoes you can find.

Paying more for fragrant tomatoes sold on the vine doesn't necessarily mean more you'll get more taste. Although they may smell more flavoursome, it's often the truss you're smelling, not the fruit itself. On the other hand, many supermarkets sell their premium varieties on the truss, so they may well be more flavoursome.

The flavour depends largely upon the variety and how the fruit has ripened. Many argue that those grown outdoors and sun-ripened, not under polytunnels, are the best of all. Get more flavour from them by ripening them in a sunny spot at home (never put them in the fridge which will diminish their flavour and damage their texture).

Take them out of plastic packaging as soon as you get them home and leave them to 'breathe' in a fruit bowl. Use under-ripe, green tomatoes for making chutney and over-ripe tomatoes to make soups or sauces (these can be frozen for up to six months).

An easy way to improve indifferent tomatoes is to oven-dry them. Halve the tomatoes, sprinkle with salt, sugar and pepper and dry them in a low oven (100C/200F/Gas ½) for 2-4 hours to intensify the flavour. Turn the oven off and leave the tomatoes overnight.

Tinned tomatoes often come from Italy where the strong sun has ripened flavoursome varieties to the max. You will get more flavour from a good quality tinned tomatoes than from pallid fresh ones.

The raw, the cooked and the canned

Different types and colours of raw tomato look great mixed together in a salad. Some recipes call for skinned and de-seeded tomatoes. To prepare tomatoes in this way, use a sharp knife to make a small cross in the bottom of each tomato, place in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave for 15-30 seconds, drain and refresh in cold water. Use you fingers to peel away the skin (it should pull away easily) then quarter the tomatoes and push out the seeds.

For maximum flavour, it's better to leave both the skin and the seeds and surrounding jelly intact, as this is where much of the flavour is stored. If cooking them, use the whole lot and then you can always sieve out the skin and pips after cooking.

A tomato is technically a fruit but with a relatively low amount of sugar - the same as cabbage or Brussels sprouts - and is regarded as a vegetable. A little sugar helps bring out the sweetness, or use honey as the Moroccans do. Some people prefer the tart taste of unripened tomatoes, for example in the American dish of fried green tomatoes.

Tomatoes marry well with all sorts of other flavours. High in glutamic acid, which creates the so-called fifth taste 'umami' (loosely translated as 'savoury'), they enhance meat and fish dishes. Garlic and onion add to its deeply savoury nature while basil, thyme, oregano and mint all work their own aromatic magic. Peppers, aubergines and potatoes hail from the same family as the tomato and complement each other well, for example in a gratin.

Golden apples and wolf peaches

We take the tomato for granted but it was treated with great suspicion for many centuries after it was brought over from the Americas in the 16th century. The reason was that it is related to the poisonous deadly nightshade. However, the Italians, particularly in the south, took the tomato to their tables, calling it pomo d'oro, or 'golden apple', after the yellow varieties. The botanic name reflected the attitude of suspicion: part of the plant's botanical classification, lycopersicon, means 'wolf peach' from fairy tales of witches feeding it to werewolves.

Health benefits

These days, the tomato is praised specifically for its healthiness. As well as vitamin C, red tomatoes have high quantities of the antioxidant lycopene which some evidence shows may help reduce the risk of prostate cancer. Cooking the tomato in a little fat, such as olive oil, breaks down the cell walls and makes the fat-soluble lycopene more available. Tomato sauce is not just good to eat; it's good for you.

A small glass (200ml/7fl oz) of tomato juice will give you the same amount as 7-8 medium sized raw tomatoes, according to the BBC programme on health and eating, The Truth About Food.

Grow your own

Tomatoes are easy to grow at home. Just put some plants from a nursery into a grow-bag, a vegetable plot or pots on the patio. Sunshine is the key to flavour so put them against a warm wall in a sunny spot and hope for a hot summer to bring on your crop. Heritage varieties are fun to try but not necessarily as heavy-yielding as modern types. Look for recommendations from gardeners who know which kinds work best for your climate.

Tomato recipes

There are thousands of recipes for tomatoes and they are natural partners for herbs such as oregano, mint, basil and parsley and happily take strong flavours like onion and garlic - raw or cooked. Here's a few of our favourite recipes. Text

Light bites, nibbles and salads

• Beef tomato salad with mustard and mint dressing from the British Tomato Growers' Association
• Cherry tomato and wild rocket salad with mozzarella
• Oven-dried tomatoes by Antony Worrall Thomspon
• Oven roasted tomatoes with feta by Rick Stein
• Vodka-soaked cherry tomatoes by Antony Worrall Thomspon
• Tomato cake with avocado and buffalo mozzarella by Emma Crowhurst
• Tomato salsa and bruschetta by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
• Tomato, watermelon and feta salad by Jill Dupleix

Soups and sauces

• Pasta with tomato sauce, mozzarella and basil (video recipe) by Sophie Grigson from Get Cooking
• Fresh tomato soup with tapenade by Rick Stein
• Basic tomato and basil sauce by Jo Pratt
• Tomato fondue by Heston Blumenthal
• Rustic tomato, bread and basil soup by James Martin
• Chilled roast tomato soup with pesto by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
• Green tomato chutney by Keith Floyd
• Tomato ketchup by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

Light meals and main courses

• Omelette Tourangelle with roast tomato sauce (video recipe) by Sophie Grigson from Get Cooking
• Courgette, tomato and basil tart by Mary Cadogan
• Sea bream cooked with cherry tomatoes by Gennaro Contaldo
• Simple tomato and bacon sauce with penne by Neil Perry
• Sardinian pasta with sausage and tomato sauce by Antonio Carluccio