We’ve been conditioned to relegate grape and cherry tomatoes and their various relatives, to the winter months when our delicious local beefsteak tomatoes are unavailable. While those winter grape and cherry tomatoes satisfy our yearning for summer's vine-ripened heirloom tomatoes, our local, summer, small tomatoes can be as spectacular as our beloved beefsteaks.
Please read below to learn of some of the different types of small tomatoes, their flavor profiles and differences, and how to use them in traditional and innovative ways.
Let's start with plain old Red Grape Tomatoes. We’ve all bought these at the supermarket during the ‘off’ season and they're generally fine. However, our locally grown ones are better! Grape tomatoes tend to have a sweetness-forward flavor that, while tasty, lacks complexity (though they're still great for salads and make a nice quick-cooked sauce). Check out the first recipe from Mangia with Michele at the bottom of this article. Michele is a fantastic chef, food blogger, and author. She’s also a great friend of the farm! Follow her on social media for great recipes or on her website. https://mangiawithmichele.com.
To make a quick sauce with grape tomatoes, turn a sauté pan to medium-high heat, toss in some grape tomatoes (sliced lengthwise), add a pinch of salt, and give them a quick sear in the pan till they soften and give up some of their juice. At this point you have lots of options, grape tomatoes love a quick squirt of good balsamic vinegar, and/or a crushed garlic clove. Finish with some chopped basil and/or parsley and this quick, light, and sweet sauce is perfect over a roasted, seared, or grilled chicken breast, light-colored fish or pork.
Yellow Grape Tomatoes are sweet with a very mild flavor making them a wonderful addition to salads! They can also be used either alone or combined with the red grape tomatoes in the sauté discussed above.
Red Cherry Tomatoes are the kings of the small tomato group! Unfortunately, most off-season supermarket varieties are bland and flavorless. (Flavor Bomb brand however is an exception!) Summer Wind Farms is serious about tomato flavor so we tend to be choosy about what we grow. We use a variety that has so much flavor and complexity that it rivals our best beefsteaks for flat-out deliciousness!
Red Cherry Tomatoes are versatile and great in salads, but they also make a great light-seared sauce like the one described above in the grape tomato section. However, their complex flavor lends itself to oven roasting like few other tomatoes. You can pop them in the oven and cook them down to accentuate and relish their tastiness. If they’re larger, you can slice them in half and place cut side down on a cookie sheet and broil till the skins pucker. Then remove the skins with a pair of tongs, set the oven to back at about 400 degrees and cook them further to remove some moisture. When finished, you can leave them as is, chop them coarsely, or process them in a blender or food mill for a smoother sauce. No matter how you process them, the top varieties of cherry tomatoes are flat out delicious when cooked. Use your cherry tomato sauce any way you like but it never met a pasta it didn’t love!
You can also leave them whole and not remove the skins if you prefer, it's truly a personal preference.
For a really quick and delicious option, slice your red cherry tomatoes in half, put them in a large serving bowl, add some salt and pepper, perhaps a touch of oregano, but do not cook them. Boil your pasta (preferably a short pasta), drain it, and toss it on top of the tomatoes. The heat from the pasta will lightly cook the tomatoes which is all they really need. Garnish with some fresh chopped basil and grated cheese or mozzarella balls and you're good to go!
Yellow Cherry Tomatoes (we're talking about the Sungold variety here), is one of those, “If you know, you know,” varieties. Sungolds are super popular because they are fantastic. They’re a bright gold color with a sweet complex flavor with undertones of citrus. Use these gems in a salad or roast them as you would a red cherry tomato. Cook them on the stovetop or oven! Run them through a food mill then use as a pasta sauce or on homemade pizza! These little gems are simply superb however you eat them. They're also lower in acidity, making them ideal for folks with sensitive digestive systems.
Artisan Mixed Cherry Tomatoes are one of our favorite crops to grow as it gives us a chance to be creative! This is not just a mix of the varieties previously mentioned, but a rich assortment of colors, shapes, sizes, and flavor profiles. This mix has all the colors of the rainbow with many of the tomatoes having various stripes or multiple colors on the fruit. Their appearance is as varied as their colors combining basic round cherries, elongated grapes, and pear shapes found in the assortment! There's even a bright yellow cylindrical one called “Sun Dipper,” grown just for dipping! The flavor profiles vary, sometimes by a lot, so these are not recommended for cooking or making sauce. They are delicious on a fresh veggie tray, with a dip, or in a salad. Elevate your small tomato game with Summer Wind Farms Artisan Mixed Tomatoes!
A quick tip: We generally don’t recommend mixing tomato colors in a sauce as that usually leads to the sauce not being red or yellow, but rather, a muted brown and visually unappealing. However, if you don’t mind the drab color, give it a try.
To make a quick sauce with grape tomatoes, turn a sauté pan to medium-high heat, toss in some grape tomatoes (sliced lengthwise), add a pinch of salt, and give them a quick sear in the pan till they soften and give up some of their juice. At this point you have lots of options, grape tomatoes love a quick squirt of good balsamic vinegar, and/or a crushed garlic clove. Finish with some chopped basil and/or parsley and this quick, light, and sweet sauce is perfect over a roasted, seared, or grilled chicken breast, light-colored fish or pork.
Yellow Grape Tomatoes are sweet with a very mild flavor making them a wonderful addition to salads! They can also be used either alone or combined with the red grape tomatoes in the sauté discussed above.
Red Cherry Tomatoes are the kings of the small tomato group! Unfortunately, most off-season supermarket varieties are bland and flavorless. (Flavor Bomb brand however is an exception!) Summer Wind Farms is serious about tomato flavor so we tend to be choosy about what we grow. We use a variety that has so much flavor and complexity that it rivals our best beefsteaks for flat-out deliciousness!
Red Cherry Tomatoes are versatile and great in salads, but they also make a great light-seared sauce like the one described above in the grape tomato section. However, their complex flavor lends itself to oven roasting like few other tomatoes. You can pop them in the oven and cook them down to accentuate and relish their tastiness. If they’re larger, you can slice them in half and place cut side down on a cookie sheet and broil till the skins pucker. Then remove the skins with a pair of tongs, set the oven to back at about 400 degrees and cook them further to remove some moisture. When finished, you can leave them as is, chop them coarsely, or process them in a blender or food mill for a smoother sauce. No matter how you process them, the top varieties of cherry tomatoes are flat out delicious when cooked. Use your cherry tomato sauce any way you like but it never met a pasta it didn’t love!
You can also leave them whole and not remove the skins if you prefer, it's truly a personal preference.
For a really quick and delicious option, slice your red cherry tomatoes in half, put them in a large serving bowl, add some salt and pepper, perhaps a touch of oregano, but do not cook them. Boil your pasta (preferably a short pasta), drain it, and toss it on top of the tomatoes. The heat from the pasta will lightly cook the tomatoes which is all they really need. Garnish with some fresh chopped basil and grated cheese or mozzarella balls and you're good to go!
Yellow Cherry Tomatoes (we're talking about the Sungold variety here), is one of those, “If you know, you know,” varieties. Sungolds are super popular because they are fantastic. They’re a bright gold color with a sweet complex flavor with undertones of citrus. Use these gems in a salad or roast them as you would a red cherry tomato. Cook them on the stovetop or oven! Run them through a food mill then use as a pasta sauce or on homemade pizza! These little gems are simply superb however you eat them. They're also lower in acidity, making them ideal for folks with sensitive digestive systems.
Artisan Mixed Cherry Tomatoes are one of our favorite crops to grow as it gives us a chance to be creative! This is not just a mix of the varieties previously mentioned, but a rich assortment of colors, shapes, sizes, and flavor profiles. This mix has all the colors of the rainbow with many of the tomatoes having various stripes or multiple colors on the fruit. Their appearance is as varied as their colors combining basic round cherries, elongated grapes, and pear shapes found in the assortment! There's even a bright yellow cylindrical one called “Sun Dipper,” grown just for dipping! The flavor profiles vary, sometimes by a lot, so these are not recommended for cooking or making sauce. They are delicious on a fresh veggie tray, with a dip, or in a salad. Elevate your small tomato game with Summer Wind Farms Artisan Mixed Tomatoes!
A quick tip: We generally don’t recommend mixing tomato colors in a sauce as that usually leads to the sauce not being red or yellow, but rather, a muted brown and visually unappealing. However, if you don’t mind the drab color, give it a try.
Small tomatoes make a simple, but amazing salad.
All Summer Wind Farms tomatoes are grown USDA Certified Organic. Our USDA-approved certifying agency is Quality Certification Services of Gainesville, Florida.
Some of our favorite recipes:
https://mangiawithmichele.com/fresh-grape-tomato-pasta/.
https://mangiawithmichele.com/bruschetta-caprese/
https://mangiawithmichele.com/confit-cherry-tomatoes-and-garlic/.
https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/roasted-grape-tomatoes-and-garlic-in-olive-oil.
https://justinesnacks.com/sungold-tomatoes-crispy-garlic-butter/.
https://www.dinneratthezoo.com/cherry-tomato-salad/.
https://www.epicurious.com/ingredients/the-best-ways-to-use-cherry-tomatoes-gallery.
Some of our favorite recipes:
https://mangiawithmichele.com/fresh-grape-tomato-pasta/.
https://mangiawithmichele.com/bruschetta-caprese/
https://mangiawithmichele.com/confit-cherry-tomatoes-and-garlic/.
https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/roasted-grape-tomatoes-and-garlic-in-olive-oil.
https://justinesnacks.com/sungold-tomatoes-crispy-garlic-butter/.
https://www.dinneratthezoo.com/cherry-tomato-salad/.
https://www.epicurious.com/ingredients/the-best-ways-to-use-cherry-tomatoes-gallery.