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Cherry Tomatoes Fresh From Buckhorn Inn Garden

Don’t you love those luscious, sweet, end-of-summer cherry tomatoes?  They pop in your mouth with such bright flavor.  We have grown several varieties of these small tomatoes here at Buckhorn Inn.   One of the most prolific this year was our  heirloom Yellow Pear tomatoes.  They fruit is bright yellow and they are deliciously tangy.  We also have had great success with Shimmer, Honeycomb, Napa Grape, Mighty Sweet, and Black Pearl.  They look beautiful served together in a salad!  Our chefs also have enjoyed using them in “farmer’s omelets” showcasing our garden-fresh veggies. http://www.burpee.com/vegetables

Each tomato has a slightly different flavor profile.

Tomato History

Food historians believe cherry tomatoes are a modern version of South American wild tomatoes.  According to archeological evidence, Central American farmers grew the first domestic strains of these small tomatoes.  The Incas and Aztecs farmed tiny pea-size fruit around 700 A.D.  You may not realize that large tomatoes are actually a mutation of the cherry varieties.  The first cultivated tomatoes were berry-small and housed only two cavities for seeds.

We do not know who gets credit for bringing tomatoes to Europe.  The first description of small tomatoes in print appears in a 1623 illustrated book of plants.  The fruits reached wild popularity in the 1970s when British chain Marks & Spencer worked with local growers and food scientists to develop a new cherry tomato that was very sweet and shelf-stable.

We hope you are enjoying a bountiful crop!  If you have more tomatoes than you can use fresh, why not oven dry some of them?  That is what we have been doing.  These little flavor bombs are great for salads, pasta topping, or snacking.   They burst with intense tomato flavor.  And it couldn’t be more easy.

Oven-Dried Cherry Tomatoes

35 cherry tomatoes

1 Tablespoon of salt

Herbs, optional

Preheat oven to 200 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Cut tomatoes in half horizontally and place on the sheet, sides touching and cut side up.  Sprinkle with salt and let sit about 30 minutes.  Sprinkle with chopped basil, oregano, or parsley.  Bake for 2 1/2 to 3 hours until the halves are about 3/4 of their original size and are deep red in color.  You may keep them for a month or so in an airtight container in the refrigerator or they may be frozen.