Ingredient encyclopedia · Vegetables
Botanically a fruit, culinarily a vegetable, chemically a glutamate bomb — tomatoes are one of the richest plant sources of umami, which is why they anchor so many of the world's great sauces.
Sweet, tart, and savory at once. Peak-season tomatoes need only salt; winter tomatoes need heat and time to concentrate.
Handle with care
Prep & knife work
·
Core with a paring knife; score an X to peel after a 30-second blanch.
·
Salt slices 10 minutes before serving to concentrate flavor.
·
Seed only when the recipe demands dryness — the jelly holds the umami.
At the stove
Cooking methods
Slow simmering into sauce
Raw, dressed at room temperature
Flavor friends
Pairs well with
Canned San Marzano (for any cooked application)
Roasted red pepper (in some sauces)
Tomato paste + water (in braises)
Keep it fresh
Storage & shopping
Storage
Ripe: countertop, stem-side down, out of sun. Refrigeration kills flavor enzymes — only chill fully ripe fruit you can't use in time.
Shelf life
Countertop: 3–5 days ripe. Canned: years.
Seasonality
High summer through early autumn. Out of season, canned beats fresh every time.
Shopping tips
Smell the stem end — a real tomato smells like tomato vine. Heavy for its size means juicy.
Nutrition
Vitamin C, potassium, and lycopene — which becomes more absorbable when cooked with fat.
Domesticated in Mesoamerica, feared as poisonous in Renaissance Europe, then adopted so completely by Italy that it is hard to imagine the cuisine without it.
Put it to work
Recipes with tomato
Tomato & Basil Pasta
Italian · Dinner
Weekend Shakshuka
Middle Eastern · Breakfast
Weeknight Coq au Vin
French · Dinner
Club Sandwich
American · Lunch
The Perfect BLT
American · Lunch
Grilled Chicken Wrap
Modern · Lunch
Caprese Sandwich
Italian · Lunch
Bulgur Pilaf
Modern · Side
…and 5 more in the cookbook.