There’s a benefit to the fact that its late summer — it’s tomato harvest time! But with more than 25,000 varieties available, you may have trouble picking the right type. The following are most likely to be at your farmers’ markets:

Beefsteak tomatoes are great for eating — think on a bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich or a hamburger. They’re also good for adding to green salads or for just plain snacking. Try eating a juicy beefsteak the way you would a peach or an apple!

Roma, or plum tomatoes are the variety you want to use for cooking because they don’t have a lot of seeds and their skins are thin. They also are meatier than round tomatoes, so they won’t water down your favorite pasta sauce recipe.

Cherry tomatoes have the shape and size of a cherry. They are often sweet, so pop them into a salad or your mouth — they make great low calorie, low sugar snacks (watch out if you bite into them — they squirt!). Slice cherry tomatoes in half and drop them into a saute pan for a quick-cooking sauce.

Grape tomatoes have the oblong shape of a grape and are about the same size. Their skin is a little thicker than cherry tomatoes and their flesh is meatier. Many people feel they are sweeter than the cherry variety. They are growing in popularity because they last longer than cherry tomatoes.

Heirloom tomatoes certainly aren’t the prettiest tomato variety on the market, but they are the tastiest. Heirlooms vary in size and they come in a range of colors — yellow, pink, red, purple, green, orange, and even black. There are said to be more than 3,000 varieties of heirlooms being grown in the U.S. and more than 15,000 known varieties!

Look for plump, heavy tomatoes with smooth skins that don’t have any cracks. They should ‘give’ a little with slight pressure. If you plan to use them within a few days, you can keep them on your kitchen counter or windowsill, but not in direct sunlight! If it will be a few days before you use them, find a cool spot in the house. Never refrigerate tomatoes — it makes them watery and it ruins the flavor.

Take advantage of fresh tomatoes for their taste and for their health benefits. Eating tomatoes lowers cholesterol and blood pressure, reduces the risk of prostate cancer, and regulates blood sugar.

Easy Fresh Tomato Sauce
www.allrecipes.com

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped
1 tablespoon tomato puree
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
In a large skillet over medium heat, cook onion in olive oil until translucent. Stir in tomatoes, cook until juice begins to thicken. Stir in puree, salt, and pepper. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes more, until rich and thick.

Photo Credit: Couleur Via Pixabay