Wednesday,
June 06, 2007
"The Attack of the Killer
Tomatoes" aka Wolf Peaches
The
ANNOTICO Report
As
a take off the B movie of the same name, Tomatoes have gone from being
considered Poisonous to Lascivious, to Ubiquitous, to in the lingo of
an Anti vegetarian 12 year old American about the tomato pantheon: the daterino. , he described as Killer!
It
is difficult to imagine Italian cooking without the tomato, and yet despite its
ubiquity and importance, it is a relative newcomer to
The
Italian word for tomato pomodoro is derived from the old
Italian word for apple (pomo) and the word for
gold (oro). Literally: golden apple. Anyone
vaguely familiar with religious fanaticism in medieval
It wasnt until the 1700s that
the first documentation of its culinary use began to appear, either fresh or
boiled and crushed into sauce. That was the opening the tomato needed.
Thanks to its unique, savory taste, as well as the ease with which it could be cultivated and harvested, the poisonous berry from
the
Today, of course, its supremacy is firmly established, and its hard to
imagine a plate of pasta or a steaming pizza without the customary red sauce.
FoodBox:
Attack Of The Wolf Peaches
The American Magazine
By Aaron
May 2007
If youre in
Pear or plum, ripe or green, fruit or vegetable, the tomato is to Italian
cuisine what junk food is to
Originating somewhere in the
The Italian word for tomato pomodoro is derived from the old
Italian word for apple (pomo) and the word for
gold (oro). Literally: golden apple. Anyone
vaguely familiar with religious fanaticism in medieval
It wasnt until the 1700s that
the first documentation of its culinary use began to appear, either fresh or
boiled and crushed into sauce. That was the opening the tomato needed.
Thanks to its unique, savory taste, as well as the ease with which it could be
cultivated and harvested, the poisonous berry from the
Today, of course, its supremacy is firmly established, and its hard to
imagine a plate of pasta or a steaming pizza without the customary red sauce.
There are enough varieties, colors and types of the common tomato to fill a
book, let alone a column. But I would like to spend a few words in celebration
of a relatively recent entry to the tomato pantheon: the daterino.
Daterino tomatoes are small, roughly the size and shape
of a palm date. They are bright ruby red, and usually
sold in small cartons like strawberries. (In fact, some Sardinian daterino tomatoes are sold under the name fragolino in boxes specifically designed to call to
mind the summer fruits containers.) Blessed with remarkable shelf life,
you can usually find them in any of the big supermarkets.
Although only introduced into the Italian market a couple of years ago, daterinos are enormously popular. They are surprisingly
sweet, slightly crunchy and have seeds so small they seem nonexistent. In
short, they all but eliminate the veggie from the tomato, creating a sweet,
rich, healthy fru it that you can pop and crunch like
candy.
Earlier this month our sons twelve-year-old cousin came to visit from
The Italian fruit-tasters association (Onafrut)
ranked the varietals Dasher, Madalina
and Lusinda as faraway the best-tasting
overall, so if you have a chance to choose, try one of those three.
Comments?
Suggestions? Write to Aaron Maines.
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