Tomatoes
A sun-ripened summer tomato is a different food entirely from its winter cousin, cooling, juicy, and rich in lycopene.
In season: summer
There is no better argument for seasonal, local eating than a tomato. Ripened on the vine in summer sun, it’s sweet, fragrant and juicy; picked green and shipped in winter, it’s pale and mealy. Buy them in high summer, from a market or your own pots, and you’ll never go back.
Why it fits the season
Summer runs hot, Pitta season in Ayurveda, the Fire element in TCM, and asks for cooling, hydrating foods. Tomatoes fit exactly: over 90% water, faintly sour, and refreshing raw. They’re a leading source of lycopene, an antioxidant linked to heart and skin health, and, helpfully, one the body absorbs better when tomatoes are cooked with a little oil.
Choosing & keeping
- Choose tomatoes that are heavy for their size and smell sweet at the stem.
- Never refrigerate ripe tomatoes, cold flattens their flavour and turns the flesh mealy. Keep them stem-side down on the counter.
- Slightly underripe? A day or two in a paper bag with a banana will bring them along.
Simple ways to enjoy it
- Just sliced, with good salt, olive oil and torn basil, the whole summer on a plate.
- Panzanella: ripe tomatoes, torn bread, cucumber, red onion and plenty of oil.
- Slow-roasted with garlic and herbs to concentrate the sweetness, and unlock more lycopene.
A pinch of salt ten minutes before serving draws out the juices and deepens the flavour of even a good tomato.