Heirloom Tomatoes

HEIRLOOM TOMATOES Tomatoes will be in season before you know it. Walking through the greenmarkets in the city the past few years, I've noticed that the variety of fresh tomatoes has grown dramatically. Once you try one of these local, artisan-grown fruits, you will never want those bland, pale hothouse tomatoes that are grown year-round all over the world in controlled climates to be shipped to supermarket shelves in the dead of winter.

Most of the commercial tomatoes you see in stores are hybrids developed to be resistant to various environmental and bacterial conditions-frost and disease, for example. These hybrid fruits are heartier and tend to stand up to commercial shipping, which prevents bruised, inedible fruits from hitting the produce department, hypothetically at least. Unfortunately, the changes to compensate for those concerns led to compromises in taste, texture and color.

Heirloom tomatoes, on the other hand, are grown from "antique" seeds that, in many cases, have been passed down from previous generations; they have not been hybridized. Selected and preserved for many reasons-color, texture, acidity and flavor being the most important-the seeds are more difficult to cultivate and require more attention to harvest successfully. The differences between these varieties and ordinary supermarket tomatoes are immediately apparent.

During the summer season, you'll see heirloom tomatoes in the bins at the Union Square greenmarket. Often, they're not very hearty, and you will notice imperfections. You'll also notice a great variety of sizes and colors-from purple to lime green, with tiger stripes of orange and red. The accompanying names are great, too. There's the Hillbilly, Pixie Peach and Boxcar Willie; Mr. Stripey is one of my favorites. Fresh Heirloom Tomato Salsa 2 large, colorful tomatoes, or equivalent amount of various sizes/colors 1 medium onion 1 clove garlic 1 lime 1 jalapeño or serrano pepper (or as much heat as you like) fresh cilantro (to taste) salt, pepper Slice and chop tomatoes, onion and garlic and combine in bowl. Carefully slice the hot pepper (for less heat, remove seeds and membrane inside the pepper), mince well and add to the bowl. Wash, dry and chop the cilantro and toss with the other ingredients in the bowl. Add a few squeezes of the lime juice, salt and pepper to taste and let flavors rest and develop. Note: The flavors of fresh onion, garlic and jalapeno will continue to bloom and become more pronounced the longer you hold it. Handle the peppers with care and remember to wash your hands and