Tomatoes that taste like tomatoes .... in a grocery store????

[Stinky The Clown]

Our local Safeway has had, for the past few weeks, some hydroponic tomatoes, still on the vines, in clusters. The food sticker says they're from Mexico. They're just under ripe when we buy them and they are all fully ripe in one to three days on the shelf in the kitchen.

The taste is the best of any tomatoes we've ever gotten at Safeway - even when local tomatoes are in. They're a medium sized fruit and the taste is almost as good as home grown. I was amazed. We've been buying them every few days and lovin' life.

Is anyone else seeing these? The only other hydroponics we've seen at Safeway came from Canada. They weren't nearly as good.

[eleny]

1. We've had tomatoes n the vine for some time

I don't know the origins but they've always been delicious. And very pricey. But worth it when you want to make that great tomato sandwich. I'll have to check on the origin next time at Soopers.

It's a thread like this that makes me miss the seasonal market that won't open for months. They always have the green tomatoes for frying and lovely, giant vine ripened red tomatoes. I'm dreaming of summer.

[Stinky The Clown]

2. We've had vine tomatoes for a while, too, but

not from Mexico. Usually greenhouse tomatoes from Canada. Some from Isreal, too, of all places.

But these were the first from Mexico and Hydroponic. I'm hoping this is the first from a new industry. I could be quite happy with these.

Isalata Caprese here I come! Maybe tonight with Risotto!



By the way, I went to Google Images for a picture of Insalata Caprese and found this example. Who in HELL was stupid enough to take this picture??????????? Real effin' appetizin' ..... fool.

[Stinky The Clown]

3. Here's the label that's on these "Mexiponic" tomatoes

[grasswire]

5. uhhh.........

....does the name "bionatur" sound just a little scary?

[grasswire]

4. I wrote a few weeks ago about Safeway's tomatoes

Are the ones you're getting coming in a plastic pack of eight or ten or so? Those are the ones I've been getting at Safeway, and they're scrumptious. Not cheap, but DElicious.

[Stinky The Clown]

6. No, not in plastic

They're packed in a dark blue cardboard flat. The guy was reloading the display when I was there yesterday.The tomatoes are in clusters still attached to the vine, maybe 3 to 6 tomatoes in each cluster.

And you're quite right ... they cost a little more but they really are very, very good.

On the downside, I have fond that they over ripen pretty quickly. They seem to go from ripe to moldy in maybe two days. However, if you move them from a shelf to the fridge as soon as they're fully ripe, that time is extended by another couple of days.

As I said up thread, they can sell these during local tomato season and I might still choose these. They're that good.

[SW FL Dem]

7. We buy tomatoes on the vine from Costco

I think the brand is Campari, they are pricey but worth it to have a tomato that tastes like a tomato, not cardboard,

[Stinky The Clown]

8. Seems there *are* tomatoes out there that taste like tomatoes

A number of us seem to be reporting tomatoes from different sources that taste like tomatoes. Could this mean they've managed to get close to finding that perfect tomato .... one that tastes really good but also ships well?

Wouldn't that be wonderful?!?!

[politicat]

9. Leaving them on the vine is the key.

We do this every fall when we grow our own. When the first frost is predicted, we pull up the plants and hang them by the roots in the storage room (which is about 60 F). The tomatoes continue to ripen - more slowly than they do in the ground - if they're left on the vine, and usually develop the same flavor as the ones that came out of the plant when it was in the ground.

Not a new variety, to my knowledge, just a "new" technique. It's such a "new" technique that I learned it from my great-grandfather when I was a child, and he was a professional tomato farmer from 1938 to 1967 (he switched to corn and soybeans in 67 because he was getting old and wanted to slow down... This is the same g-grandfather that I'm helping to care for, and in fact, he's doing a lot better. At times, TOO much better.)

We've been able to get them in Colorado for a couple of years; there's a greenhouse in Ft. Lupton that produces them year round with very good consistency.

Pcat

[Stinky The Clown]

10. Pcat, thanks for that background.

It makes perfect sense. I just wonder, since the technique is obviously not new, why it is only recently they've been doing this? Oh well, at least they're doing it!

Glad to hear G-Gpa is doing well! :hi:

[eleny]

12. My mom used to call winter tomatoes "anemic"

"Cardboard" is also exactly right. We've got the look and lack of flavor down pat!

[eyesroll]

11. Uglyripes are pretty good...

Problem is, the state of Florida (I think) wants to ban their marketing (under their weird marketing rules), because they're not round and red and flawless, and therefore don't meet the standards to be called a Florida Tomatoª.

:eyes:

I usually just grow tomatoes or buy them from farmers' markets in the summer, and stick to canned in the winter.

[Stinky The Clown]

13. Hmmmm .... they look okay to me ... like .... uh ..... tomatoes!

This appears to be far more than a fruit only its mother could love. What's wrong with those Florida regulators ..... oh wait ...... never mind! :-)

[Bluebear]

14. I loooooooove Uglyripes

I actually change my shopping center preference to the store that carries them!

[eleny]

15. Hi again

Went shopping today and found the small tomatoes on the vine. They're grown in the USA. They also had cherry tomatoes, also on the vine, from Mexico. I've had those and they're great. Today, I opted for the Flavorino cherry tomatoes since they were two for the price of one mesh sack. Not on the vine but the flavor is outstanding. They were grown just north in Fort Lupton, Colorado. This is them - they have that longish shape for a cherry tomato. But yours on the vine from Mexico are excellent for sandwiches. Another lady and I just decided to "ABC", "always buy Colorado" and go for the great sale price.
All this hunting for cherry pictures has me thinking of growing some this summer. I'd like to grow "Spoon" tomatoes. They're supposed to be as small as a pea. I found them here in this list of pictures http://www.heirloomtomatoes.bizland.com/varieties.htm

[Stinky The Clown]

16. OH.MY.GOD!

This one, taken from the site you linked, has my family name!

TOOOOOOOO COOOOOL!





All those pictures make me wanna start a garden. We do herbs in the front yard, but have only talked about tomatoes, never actually done them. I have an idea for some raised beds that would be a few steps outside the kitchen ...... maybe this is the year!

Our cross-the-street neighbors do a big garden every year. And every year he plants one heirloom tomato and one heirloom-something-else.

Can you say mmmmMMMM!?!? :hi:

[NMDemDist2]

17. i have three variety maters sprouted

a Brandywine yellow heirloom
a yellow pear
a big boy beefsteak

also started this year are chives, italian parsely, cilantro, sweet basil

this is my first attempt at a garden and I'm doing BIG pots for the maters (that way I can roll them under the shade cloth when it gets 115) and the herbs are staying in the kitchen.

i'll keep ya'll posted.

[eleny]

18. Do it

Even if you get some big pots and grow a cherry variety in there, you'll be dancing a jig every time you pop one right off the vine. There's nothing in this world like eating a cherry tomato right off the vine on a hot day.

[Lugnut]

20. Go for it!

There's nothing quite like walkng out the back door to pick fresh tomatoes off the plants.

[BamaGirl]

19. I bought some of these today

They're pretty good. Not as good as from my backyard lol, but they'll do. ;)

[grasswire]

21. okay....

...I was in Safeway today and looking closely at tomato stickers. There were no "bionatur" ones such as H2S raved over. I did find Mexican uglifruits and took one home, but was quite disappointed in it. Absolutely no sweetness to it.

More research needed.

[The empressof all]

22. My "new" tomato addiction

I've been taking those really sweet cherry tomatoes you can find now and popping them in the oven with olive oil and garlic. After roasting I throw in some Progresso Italian Bread Crumbs (easy for me but I'm sure it's better if you make your own) and bake it some more as the crumbs soak up the liquid a little. I then serve over Angel Hair with a touch of fresh pesto and grated cheese.

[eleny]

23. Thanks for the idea!

I just got two mesh sacks of the cherry toms yesterday and worried that some might go bad before I can use them. I'm going to make your recipe tonight. And with Progresso Italian crumbs, too. I love Progresso and don't care how good homemade crumbs can be. I love Progresso products.

I don't have pesto in the house. But I thnk it will taste just great with grated cheese and some garlic bread. Thanks again!

[eleny]

24. I broke down and got the fresh pesto

And also picked up a new wedge of Romano. Your dish is on the menu for us tonight.

[The empressof all]

25. Hope you love it

Be sure to add enough crumbs to thicken the juices. If you really wanna be bad add a couple pats of butter when you add the crumbs. Oh God----it's good.

[eleny]

26. I just put down my fork

What a great pasta dish. I'm definitely going to fix this again the same way. I had given up on angel hair pasta since I've ruined it by overcooking in the past. Tonight, I watched it carefully and it was just right.

Do you usually add the pesto to the tomatoes at the end to spread out the pesto? I wasn't sure so I served up the pasta mixed with the sauce and added the pesto like a dollop on top. Romano cheese tasted good against the tangy sweetness of the cherry tomatoes. Yummy in the tummy!

[The empressof all]

27. You did it just like I do

I like the dollop of Pesto on the top or on the side so that I can control the intensity of basil flavor. It's my harbinger of spring dish as it's so colorful, light and fresh tasting.

I am soooo happy you enjoyed it. :)

[NashVegas]

28. I Can't Bring Myself to Eat Winter Tomatoes Since I Moved to Tennessee

The summer tomatoes here (especially the Bradley pinks) are out of this world.

Everything else, outside of the summer, is okay for dicing & salads, but otherwise, I've simply given up on the thought of tasting a tomato between September and June.