Jersey tomatoes, a food of love…

It’s Jersey tomato season bitches! Oops, sorry, I get a little carried away when it’s that time of year—kind of like when people are excited for pumpkin-flavored everything in the fall.

This is my blog’s second summer; I wrote about Jersey tomatoes last year. I won’t rewrite what I wrote last year, but here’s the blog link to my Jersey Tomatoes post. 

My friend Ann, from my hometown of Iselin, NJ, comes to Vermont camping the third week of July every year. She is kind never to forget to bring up a few Jersey tomatoes for us. 🍅

Real deal Jersey tomatoes are vine-ripened, not picked green, and then gassed to ripen like supermarket varieties. 

I read this article this morning claiming that you will be disappointed with their taste unless you buy Jersey tomatoes from a farmer, produce stand, or gardener. I believe it 💯.

When my parents still lived in NJ, I used to bring Jersey tomato starter plants back to Vermont with the hopes of growing some myself but was sadly disappointed with the taste when I tried. 

The air, temperature, and acidic, sandy soil make these Rutgers-developed tomatoes so sweet, tender, and remarkable. 

I know the farmers that grow Jersey tomatoes must know how much people love and cherish their tomatoes. 

The look on someone’s face when they take a deep whiff of a Jersey tomato and then take a bite says it all. There isn’t another tomato like it.

As a cook, I can say that when chefs and cooks see the look of pleasure on someone’s face when they taste your food is the reason why we do what we do. 

This morning I made Sam peanut butter stuffed french toast slathered in local chocolate honey and finished with a dusting of powdered sugar. 

Watching him eat it, I had a happy heart because I knew he savored every bite. He told me when he was done, it was “really, really good.” Yay! 

If the farmer who grew the tomatoes we had for breakfast would have seen that same look on my face as Sam’s. 

A juicy, ripe Jersey tomato sandwich with Hellman’s mayo on both sides of the bread, sprinkled with kosher salt and pepper. True perfection on a plate. 

Funny that when I went back to copy the link to last year’s blog post about Jersey tomatoes, I did it on July 24, just like today! I didn’t plan it; maybe 7/24 should be Jersey tomato day along with my brother-in-law Peter’s birthday. Happy Birthday Peter! 🥳

4 Replies to “Jersey tomatoes, a food of love…”

  1. I love Jersey tomatoes! One year our Jersey friend brought me the same seeds he uses. Nope not the same! 🍅🍅🍅

  2. Rub it in! 45 years since I have eaten a Jersey tomato in a sandwich like that … making my mouth water!

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