SEARCHING FOR THE BEST TOMATO

 

Nine local varieties of tomato, in search of the best.

A friend complained that she couldn’t find good tomatoes—right now, at the height of tomato season! I took up the challenge—to find the best tomato. I bought a lot of tomatoes at my local, village market and set up a cata, a tasting. 

Top row, from left: Daniela, Castellano, Ensalada, Rama. Second row, Canario, Roma, Raf, Kumato and Corazon de Buey. The cherry tomatoes are just for pretty; I didn't include them in the tasting. 

I had nine different varieties (plus cherry tomatoes). Using local (Málaga, Andalusia) nomenclature they were Daniela, Ensalada, Kumato, Canario, Castellano, Corazon de Buey, Raf, Rama and Roma. 

I soon discovered that the local names are not all actual varietals. “Rama” just refers to tomatoes “on the vine.” “Ensalada” just means “salad tomato;” it may or may not be the same as Valenciano, which may or may not be a Rutgers tomato.  Nor do the names correspond to American names. Buying locally, I did not have access to varieties from other regions of Spain.

The Castellano variety was the largest specimen (between 14 and 16 ounces). In spite of the name, it is grown locally, is quite similar to the famed tomato, Huevo de Toro (bull's ball), which I was unable to find in my market. The Castellano is sweet/tart, fruity, soft and juicy, thin-skinned. It is easily damaged in handling, so is not widely distributed.

This Corazon de Buey--"ox heart"-- is a puny specimen. It comes from my garden, where the plants were twice dug up by rooting wild boar and stressed by tomato rot. Like the Castellano, this variety doesn't travel well. It has leathery skin, but peels easily. It's juicy and very sweet.

 

The Daniela variety, widely commercialized. Large, round, red, it is gorgeous. It will keep a couple weeks without deteriorating. 

Where I live, this variety is called Ensalada. It's large and frequently comes to market while still quite green. Local cooks like the green fruit, cut into gajos, wedges, dressed with olive oil and lots of salt. I pick out the ripest (reddest) of these tomatoes and let them mature a couple days more. They are juicy, sweet/acid balanced. This was the second largest tomato, weighing from 8 to 12 ounces.

The Kumato is a protected cultivar, developed in Spain, unusual for its darkened red color. It is tough skinned (best peeled) and has a winey, tart flavor, very firm texture. 

Deeply ridged, the bright red Raf tomato is very pretty. It has an intense flavor and is quite firm. Developed in Almería, the name stands for resistance to Fusarium, a disease that affects tomato plants.  

Rama tomatoes come to market dangling from the vine. They are medium-sized, very red and long lasting. The rama, or branch, is useful for hanging the tomatoes, the best way to keep them.

Two varieties here, on the left is the Canario, a small round tomato extensively grown in the Canary Islands. On the right is the Roma, or tomate pera, "pear" tomato, known in English as the plum tomato. It's grown year-round under plastic and, besides being a fine cooking tomato, is a reasonably good salad tomato in the winter when other tomatoes fare poorly.  

The tasting plate--nine varieties, no salt, no oil, plain toast to nibble between tastes.

Was this beauty the best tomato we tasted? It's probably the variety that so disappointed my tomato-loving friend. With its smooth red skin, no lumps or blemishes, it looks like the perfect tomato. 

Maybe somewhere it's as good as it gets. The Daniela is bred to stand up to industrialized picking, packing and shipping. Besides looking good, it has a long shelf life. 

No, along with Rama and Canario, the Daniela was the least good tomato we tasted. They are insipid in flavor, mealy in texture. Not what you want to make a great gazpacho.

And the winner is--- This wasn't a fair fight. The best tasting tomato was not one purchased at the municipal market. It was the stunted Corazon de Buey from my own garden. Of the market tomatoes, I liked best the Castellano (bigger than Beefsteak!), the Ensalada and, surprising to me, the Kumato. All three had the most intense flavors, best sweet/acid balance. The Ensalada, in fact, is my go-to tomato for salads, gazpacho, sandwiches. 

Tomato Salad with Cheese

Ensalada de Tomate con Queso

This salad is best if the tomatoes are sliced and dressed with vinaigrette shortly before serving. The longer they stand with salt, the more juices they give off. Of course, the juicy version of tomato salad is pretty delicious too; served with bread for dunking.

 

Tomatoes with especially tough skins are best peeled. Your choice. Slice the tomatoes not too thick, not too thin—3/8 inch is about right. 

I like queso fresco de cabra, a fresh, soft, white goat cheese, for this salad. It’s very mild in flavor and not very salty. Feta or fresh mozzarella could be used instead. 

3-4 tomatoes

4 ounces fresh white goat cheese

Vinaigrette for Tomato Salad (recipe follows)

Croutons (optional)

Maldon salt flakes

Use very sharp knife to slice tomatoes.

If desired, peel the tomatoes. Cut away the stems and slice the tomatoes crosswise. Cut large slices in half. Spread the sliced tomatoes on a platter or divide between 4 individual plates.

Slice the cheese and cut it into 1 ½ -inch pieces. Tuck the slices between the sliced tomatoes. Spoon the vinaigrette over the tomatoes. Sprinkle with croutons, if desired. Sprinkle generously with salt flakes.

Vinaigrette for Tomato Salad

Vinagreta para Tomates

For this vinaigrette, I used Picual, a single varietal extra virgin olive oil, instead of my usual blended oil. It’s pungent, with a bite that complements the sweetness of fresh tomatoes. I added vinegar in moderation. Tomatoes are good with no vinegar at all, but a small quantity of vinegar helps to emphasize their sweetness. There’s not much salt in the dressing, but be sure to sprinkle the tomatoes liberally with flaky salt to serve. Garlic is optional; you may prefer to leave it out.

The vinaigrette can be made in advance. Keep it, covered, at room temperature up to 8 hours. Add the parsley immediately before using the vinaigrette.

1 small clove garlic, minced or crushed

¼ teaspoon salt

2-3 teaspoons Sherry vinegar

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley

In a small bowl combine the garlic, salt and vinegar. Whisk in the oil. Stir in the parsley immediately before using the vinaigrette.

Toasts with Tomato

Pan con Tomate

Spread grated fresh tomato pulp on toasted bread. Add olive oil and sliced ham.

For pan amb tomàquet in Cataluña, you rub toasted bread with tomato, but in Andalusia, for pan tumaca, you spread the toast with lots of grated tomato pulp. Drizzle generously with extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with salt and you’ve got a perfect breakfast or snack. Add thinly sliced serrano or ibérico ham (omit the salt) and it’s sensational.

Sliced bread or rolls, split open

Tomatoes

Extra virgin olive oil

Salt, if needed

Sliced serrano or ibérico ham

Use thickly sliced country bread, baguette, split bollos (crusty rolls) or molletes (soft buns). Toast the bread slices or split rolls in a toaster, on a ridged grill pan or under the broiler. 

Grate tomato, discard skin.

Grate the tomatoes coarsely, discarding the skins. (Approximately 1 medium tomato for a 7-inch bread roll.)  Spread the tomato pulp on the toasted bread. Drizzle generously with oil. Sprinkle with salt. Lay sliced ham on top. Serve rolls open-faced or as sandwiches. 

Lots more ideas for how to use tomatoes here.

The festival of the Tomate Huevo de Toro (Guadalhorce, Málaga) runs all through the month of August. See a list of restaurants featuring special menus with this outstanding tomato here.

GIVE IT ZING, MAKE IT SING—WITH VINEGAR

I’VE got a magic ingredient right in the pantry. A few drops of this special essence works magic in sauces, stews, and salads. It turns hum-drum dishes into snappy, gourmet creations. It gives foods zing, it makes them sing.

What is it? Vinegar! Yes, regular vinegar like you use on everyday salads, plus special vinegars, those made with varietal wines, cask-aged or flavored with fruit or herbs.

A palate of vinegars--from the left, sweet Málaga wine vinegar, Sherry vinegar, raspberry "balsamic," white wine vinegar, and Pedro Ximenez (also Sherry) vinegar. Missing from the pantry is red wine vinegar.

Vinegar is produced by the action of acetic bacteria, which consume the alcohol (in wine, cider, beer, honey, rice lees, fruit juice) and transform it into acetic acid.  (The word vinegar derives from “vin aigre”, meaning “sour wine.”)

Sometimes acetification happens during the making of wine, in which case, it is a serious defect. However, the ancients knew that this soured wine was a potent preservative, for the high acidity prevents spoilage of foods. They also knew vinegar as a useful condiment. From both the need to preserve food and to season it derive all the various pickles, relishes, chutneys and sambals which liven up meals the world over.

Commercial wine vinegar is made in industrial-scale vats, producing a sharp vinegar with little depth of flavor, in only a few days. 

But in wine regions such as Jerez (Sherry), vinegar is produced by allowing the base wine, made from Sherry grapes, to acidify and mature slowly in the solera system of stacked oak barrels. The most mature vinegar is drawn off from the bottom row of casks—the solera (from suelo, floor).

Cask-aged vinegar has depth of flavor and color as well as acidity. The ones made from sweet wines, such as Málaga and Pedro Ximenez, are sweet as well as tangy.

As the wine slowly turns to vinegar, it takes on a mellow, rounded flavor, giving Sherry vinegar its special appeal. It has higher acidity (7 percent or up to 8 percent for aged reserva vinegar) than industrial wine vinegar (6 percent), so a little goes a long way. Most Sherry vinegar is produced from the Palomino grape (the same variety used for fino Sherry). That made from the Pedro Ximenez grape produces a semi-sweet vinegar. Sherry vinegar has its own protected denominación de origen, Vinagre de Jerez.

Other wine regions have specialty vinegars also, such as red wine vinegar from the Rioja and single varietal vinegars such as Garnacha red wine vinegar.

Other vinegars to be found on the shelf in the supermarket are cider, white, malt, rice and balsamic. Real balsamic vinegar comes from Modena, Italy, and is fermented from the boiled must of the white Trebbiano de Spagna grape. It is aged in wood casks from 10 to 100 years. However, most of what is sold as balsamic are industrial copies, colored with caramel (sugar) and never aged in wooden barrels. (I never use it.)

Store vinegar in a cool, dark place. Good ones should be purchased in glass bottles, not plastic. In the kitchen, use only glass, enamel and stainless steel when cooking with vinegar. Don't use vinegar with aluminum, copper, zinc or cast-iron, as the acid reacts with those metals.

Sherry vinegar adds tang to sauce for pork chops with apricots.

Vinegar tips:

• For flakier pie crust, add a teaspoon of vinegar to the pastry dough.

• To enhance the sweetness of strawberries: macerate sliced berries with sugar and a spoonful of vinegar.

• Add a few drops of vinegar to meringue to stabilize it.

• Use vinegar to de-glaze a pan after sautéing and you create "instant" sauce. Chicken breast, liver, fish, steak, all taste better with a shot of vinegar. This is a good way to use herb or fruit vinegar too.

• Use vinegar when food needs a flavor boost, such as in salt-free cookery.

• Add six tablespoons of vinegar to water when making fish stock or chicken broth. Vinegar enhances the stock's flavor.

• Use a few drops of vinegar in rinse water to get sparkling glassware.

 Chile Vinegar

This recipe was given to me by the late Don Mauricio González Gordon, Marques of Bonanza, who headed the Sherry house Gonzalez Byass (makers of Tio Pepe). One good way to use chile vinegar, Don Mauricio told me, is to add it to lentil stew right before serving.

Pack a small flask with chile peppers, stems removed. Add Sherry vinegar to fill the flask. Stopper tightly. Let set at least one week. Use as required, topping up the bottle with vinegar as needed. 

Pork Chops With Apricot-Vinegar Sauce

Fruit balances vinegar's tang in this savory sauce for pork chops.

In olden times, when vinegar was an essential preservative, the sourness of vinegary foods was balanced with sweet fruit and honey. Thus, sweet and sour tastes have long been part of traditional cooking. 

Ibérico pork chops, marbled with fat.

I used ibérico pork chops for this recipe. Marbled with fat, they are exceptionally juicy.

    4 thick-cut loin pork chops
    Salt and pepper
    1 tablespoon olive oil
    4-6 firm-ripe apricots, halved
    2 tablespoons minced onion
    1 clove minced garlic
    ¼ cup apricot jam
    1/3 cup Sherry or Pedro Ximenez vinegar
    1/3 cup water
    Sprig rosemary or thyme

Sprinkle the chops with salt and pepper and allow to stand 30 minutes.

Heat the oil in a skillet and sear the apricots, cut-side down, about 1 minute. Turn and sear reverse side. Remove them and set aside.

Simmer chops with apricots and vinegar.

Sear the pork chops on both sides and remove. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of fat.  Add the minced onion and garlic to the pan and sauté until softened and beginning to brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the apricot jam, vinegar, water, salt and pepper, rosemary or thyme. Stir to combine.

Return the pork chops and apricots to the pan and cook until pork is cooked, turning them once, about 5 minutes, depending on thickness.

Tender pork with a sweet and sour sauce.

Vinaigrette
Vinagreta

Mix vinaigrette in a jar--easy to shake it up. Use best extra virgin olive oil and Sherry vinegar.

Vinaigrette sauce is a marvelous addition to many dishes. For instance: spoon it over grilled fish immediately before serving. Combine it with green beans, artichokes, asparagus, cabbage, boiled potatoes, beets, cooked leeks. Toss with cooked prawns and sliced avocado. Add to cooked and drained beans or lentils for instant seasoning. Stir into hot pasta and add grated cheese. Use vinaigrette for both marinade and basting sauce for foods on the grill.

Additions to the basic vinaigrette: fresh herbs (parsley, chives, tarragon, dill, basil, etc.), chopped hard-cooked eggs, cumin or caraway seeds, chopped scallions, pimentón (paprika), minced anchovies, blue cheese, toasted sunflower seeds.

Makes about 1 cup vinaigrette.

    4 tablespoons Sherry vinegar
    1 teaspoon Dijon or whole-grain mustard
    1 teaspoon salt
    Freshly ground black pepper
    1 clove crushed garlic (optional)
    2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
    Herbs, as desired

In a clean jar stir together the vinegar, mustard, salt, pepper and garlic, if using. Whisk in the olive oil. Cover with lid. Keeps in a cool place for several days.

Shake the jar well before using the dressing.

Cauliflower Vinaigrette
Coliflor a la Vinagreta

Cauliflower marinates in a tangy vinaigrette.

Vinaigrette makes a tasty dressing for cooked vegetables. Those such as cauliflower and roasted eggplant can be marinated for hours. However, don’t add vinaigrette to green vegetables such as beans or broccoli until immediately before serving, as the vinegar leaches out the bright green color.

Serve the cauliflower as a side dish (great with foods from the grill) or toss it with salad greens.

4 cups cauliflower flowerettes (about 1 pound)
2 teaspoons wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
¼ cup vinaigrette (recipe above)
2 tablespoons chopped chives
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 tablespoon roasted pumpkin seeds

Smoked pimentón (paprika)
Salad greens to serve

Bring a pan of water to a boil with vinegar and salt. Add the cauliflower and cook to desired doneness, crisp-tender takes about 6 minutes. Drain and refresh with cold water. Drain well.

Place the cauliflower in a bowl and add the vinaigrette. Combine well. Allow to marinate at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours. Add the chives, parsley and pumpkin seeds. Sprinkle with pimentón and serve with salad greens.

Marinated cauliflower makes a good side dish.

For more recipes with vinegar, see the following posts:
Escabeche http://mykitcheninspain.blogspot.com.es/2012/03/escabeche-tangy-marinade-for-cooked.html 

Adobo  http://mykitcheninspain.blogspot.com.es/2012/03/adobo-another-tangy-marinade.html 

Apricots are in season! They inspired the recipe for pork chops.