The tomato, a beloved fruit
Used mainly in a salty version as a vegetable, the tomato is nevertheless a fruit from a botanical point of view. It is eaten raw, cooked, stuffed, mixed, roasted, in salads, pies, gazpacho, sauces and many others.
With its richness in water and fiber, its micronutrients and vitamins C and E, the tomato – imported from South America to southern Europe – was first cultivated for its beauty and its ornamental properties. The tomato was pretty before it was good! At the time, Europe and France were even split, between the south which used it and cooked it, and the north which declared it toxic, inedible and compared it to the mandrake, the witches’ root. A reputation that stuck to its seeds for a long time and it was not until the middle of the 18th century that its aura gradually spread to tables.
Forgetting its supposed past in the world of witchcraft, the public has now adopted this fleshy fruit and lives a divine idyll with it. The proof is in the numbers: it is the first (fruit) vegetable consumed by the French with a little more than 13 kg per household and per year*. A nice record and a success that is not denied.
The good choice
Regardless of the variety or product, there is only one constant: the product must be free of any stains, bruises or soft areas. A fruit of sunny days, the tomato is a fruit available in spring and summer. Out of season, forget fruits grown in heated greenhouses or that have traveled thousands of kilometers, and prefer canned tomatoes, harvested when fully ripe.
Cooking tomatoes
Tomatoes are not a single taste, as there are so many varieties. From cherry tomatoes, to be enjoyed like a candy when you bite into them; to old tomatoes such as beefsteak, pineapple, or black Crimean, to be simply used in carpaccio with olive oil and basil; to elongated varieties to be left to stew for a long time in ratatouille or melted on a classic or original tomato tart, the possibilities are endless.
Dakos and chicken souvlaki skewers
© Valery Guedes
Dakos, of Greek origin, are delicious crispy toasts made from bread or rusk topped with chopped tomatoes, mizithra – which is a traditional Greek cheese that can be transposed with feta –, olive oil, capers, olives, and oregano. An easy delight to cook all summer long.
Discover the recipe for Dakos and souvlaki chicken skewers
Carpaccio of old, cherry and candied tomatoes
© Virginie Garnier
A chef’s recipe in which the tomato is used in carpaccio with beefsteak tomato, pesto rosso with candied tomatoes, and lightly roasted cherry tomatoes. A range of preparations but also textures between raw, cooked, mixed and the melting of fresh goat’s cheese cream.
Discover the recipe for Carpaccio of old, cherry and candied tomatoes
Cherry Tomatoes with Olive Oil and Thyme
© Valery Guedes
The advantage of all these homemade jar recipes is that they are prepared during the peak season – most often in summer – to be consumed in the following months. Thus, thanks to the preservation in oil, these cherry tomatoes can be consumed in the weeks or even months following their preparation. An ideal delight for a summer aperitif. We also think of jars to prepare and preserve our homemade tomato sauce for a long time. And if we are lucky enough to have perfectly ripe tomatoes from the garden, it’s heaven!
Discover the recipe for Cherry tomatoes with olive oil and thyme
*Kantar Worldpanel – Purchase for home consumption – Average 2017-2019
