It isn’t that I have a hard rule against it, but I don’t tend to buy tomatoes out of season. We were having burgers for dinner last night, though, and I just wanted a tomato on top.
The last time I broke my rule, I tossed the whole thing out before I even served it. You can absolutely tell, when you cut into a tomato, if it is going to taste like crap. There is no need to torture your mouth – color and texture are a dead giveaway. Thankfully, last night’s tomato was passable (especially with the addition of a hearty blob of siracha mayo).
I have a similar policy on strawberries and maybe blueberries too (though I am still undecided on that).*
Despite modern growing technology, the out of season versions are just not worth it. And for that I am grateful.
I like to wait for the good stuff and celebrate it when it comes. We use a chalkboard to keep track of how many half gallons of egg nog we guzzle in December, and sour cherry gummies and Reeses Pieces come only once a year – in April, in plastic eggs. Good strawberries are picked in June, and Tomatoes are amazing only in August and September.
Foods eaten in the summer season are best if they were grown in the summer.
Wait for it.
This morning, I stumbled across a post by Jenny at Dinner a Love Story titled Death of Anticipation. It is a timeline that was originally published in an old favorite magazine (Cookie).
Jenny says:
“I have convinced myself that if we eat together every night and fight hard against The Death of Anticipation, our kids will turn out just fine.”
Dinner A Love Story is written by Jenny Rosenstrach with sometimes contributions by her husband Andy Ward.
*I can’t fully associate my best blueberry experiences with being fresh picked. Sometimes they are bland and mealy right from the shrub – but then sometimes not (same goes for the market bought versions). I suspect it has to do with weather or when I am picking them (recent rain or picking in the morning vs the heat of the day vs the evening?) – but I just haven’t quite worked out all the variables yet.