31 Delicious Summer Tomato Recipes (2024)

FAQs

Why do you soak tomatoes in salt water? ›

In the case of tomatoes, the salt is also drawing water out, intensifying the fruits' natural flavors.

"Slowly roasting low-moisture tomatoes—such as plum and Roma—concentrates their flavor and caramelizes their natural sugars for a mellow sweetness with just a touch of tang," Chris says in his new book The New Rules: Recipes That Will Change The Way You Cook. "Add them to sandwiches, soups or stews, or toss with pasta.

Yes, there are other ways to make your tomatoes taste even better and increase the acidity. There is lemon, vinegar, or my personal favorite, balsamic. Just imagine a tomato bruschetta with a balsamic vinaigrette drizzled on top.

Tomatoes are prone to magnesium deficiency later in the growing season, which can show with yellowing leaves and diminished production. Ultra Epsom Salt treatments at the beginning of their planting and throughout their seasonal life can help to prevent and remedy magnesium deficiency in your tomato plants.

Fact! Adding Epsom salts to your plant either through foliar spray or direct watering is a great way of boosting micronutrient absorption. This helps your tomato plant produce large, juicy, and very sweet fruits. Remember that a little bit goes a long way and too much can cause more problem than it fixes.

Basil is the number one herb for tomatoes, but other herbs compliment tomatoes as well: bay, chives, dill, marjoram, oregano, parsley, rosemary, savory, tarragon and thyme. Use them by themselves or in combination with tomatoes. Planting basil next to you tomatoes helps both grow better.

While basil, cilantro, and oregano are all popular herbs to pair with Tomatoes, there are many more options to choose from! If you want to experiment with more herbs, here are a few extra options that taste great with Tomatoes: Parsley. Dill.

For acid, sprinkle halved or thickly sliced tomatoes with a few drops of fresh lemon juice or a quality vinegar such as Champagne, white-wine or my favorite, Sherry vinegar. For sweetness, a very tiny sprinkle of sugar will do the trick.

As the fruit reaches maturity, extra watering can cause it to expand in size, giving you a bigger tomato, but with a diluted flavor. As a result, tomatoes watered twice a week or more tend to be less tasty.

How do you make store bought tomatoes taste like home grown? ›

Then, add the canned tomatoes to the pot and let them cook for about 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, add some garlic, basil, salt, and pepper to the pot and let everything cook for another 20 minutes. And that's it! Your canned tomatoes will now taste just as fresh as if you had picked them from your garden.

Briny ingredients like olives or capers are another way to brighten up your pasta sauce while also introducing texture and depth of flavor. Roughly chop a handful and stir them into your sauce while it's heating up on the stove.

Storing and Handling Guidelines

Store ripe cherry or grape tomatoes ideally at 45 to 60 °F with a relative humidity of 95%. Under these conditions, tomatoes will be acceptable for up to 10 days. Tomatoes stored at refrigeration temperatures below 41 °F will have approximate shelf life of 5 days.

Like all plants, tomatoes need consistent moisture. Keep the soil wet enough to prevent wilting but not so wet that the roots remain soggy. Garden tomatoes generally require one to two inches of water per week, but that can change depending on weather conditions (such as excessive drought) and the size of the plant.

It's so simple to freeze whole cherry tomatoes that it hardly warrants instructions; just wash, dry, and freeze! Wash and dry cherry tomatoes. Lay the tomatoes out in a single layer on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, and freeze for about two hours, or until frozen solid.

The recommends using three teaspoons of sea salt per two cups of water. Simply add your tomatoes to the water and let them sit for 30 minutes. Then, drain and rinse.

There is no need to use anything other than water to wash tomatoes. Washing them gently with water is as effective as using produce cleansers. Don't soak tomatoes in a sink full of water. They can become contaminated by bacteria in the sink.

Kenji Lopez-Alt from Serious Eats has explained, “salting draws liquid out of tomatoes through the process of osmosis — that is, the tendency of a liquid (tomato juice) to migrate across a membrane (the tomato's cell walls) from an area of low solute concentration (within the cells) to an area of high solute ...