Here are the ones you should know, and the best ways to use them up while the season's at its peak.
Heirloom, Farmers Market, and Specialty TomatoesSungolds are round cherry tomatoes that exhibit an orangey-gold color; the hybrid was introduced to British and American gardeners back in 1992. You may see them in grocery stores that stock produce from local farms, but Sungolds are the darling of the farmers market come late summer.
They're the closest thing to nature's candy that you can possibly imagine, an enchanting balance of tangy and sweet flavors—heavy on the sweet. They find their way easily into salads, but I love them just for snacking, right out of hand. I find myself having to buy them twice a week. They're so easy to grow that if you plant a few, you'll want to keep a diligent eye on them because they offer such high yields. Farmers like them, too, because they remain a bit more firm than the average cherry tomato, meaning they travel especially well. If you find yourself with a bumper crop, roast the tomatoes in salt, olive oil and a tiny bit of sugar: the juices ooze out and become caramelized. Keep them in your fridge in a jar for tossing into pasta, throwing into omelets, or topping a homemade pizza.This tomato is what it sounds like: a yellow tomato shaped like a pear. The heirloom is known for its bite-sized shape and mild flavor. Unlike some of its more contemporary cousins, the pear cultivar dates back to 18th century Europe, and while other pear-shaped varieties are available the yellow ones are the most common. It's one of the oldest tomatoes grown in the United States for mass consumption—I'm talking 1847 and the dawn of canning. The vines on this indeterminate growing tomato can get really leggy and grow fast, promising an abundance of fruit all summer long.The Brandywine has become the poster child for farmers market heirloom tomatoes. The pinkish-red beefsteak is prized for its intensely meaty interior, sweet flavor, and well-balanced acidity. Brandywines are slow growing and minimal yielders, known for their potentially enormous size—they can swell to over a pound.or just tossed with other colorful tomatoes with fresh mozzarella and olive oil for a simple salad. Don't be alarmed if you see them sold with splits and deep grooves and green spots near the stem—it's not uncommon and the tomato's still perfectly good for eating.Lime green and striped lemon yellow, green zebras remain brightly acidic even when ripe. There's some debate about whether they're actually an heirloom cultivar—they were first bred in the early 1980s, so they're still relatively young. That being said, they're popular with chefs and food lovers and you'll usually find them grouped with heirlooms at farmers markets. Popularized by Alice Waters at Chez Panisse, green zebras make for a zippy, acidic green gazpacho.Here's another substantial tomato, an heirloom beefsteak with reddish-purple, almost mahogany-colored flesh and a sweet, rich flavor. The Cherokee purple is revered for its dense, juicy texture, and a dark interior with small seeds, which are surrounded by a green gel and scattered throughout the fruit. The large tomatoes work well in salads, sliced thinly for a BLT or burger, or used for canning and dehydrating. Like Brandywines, they're prone to irregular shapes—some call them downright ugly—and sometimes their skin will split.Epic Tomatoes: How to Select and Grow the Best Varieties of All Time , was recognized by Slow Food USA for rediscovering and preserving the variety. He credits the heirloom to the Cherokee people, and received the seeds in the mail from a man in Tennessee who said he believed they dated back 100 years.Like their namesake, these sweet but mild heirloom tomatoes sport a coating of fuzz. And there's no missing the peachy glow on the yellow skin, with a faint blush of pale pink that appears across the flesh when they're ripe. If they're sold as part of an heirloom mix at the farmers market, peach tomatoes should be the ones you eat quickly, because the delicate fruit won't make it as long as some of their heavier, meatier counterparts. They don't get too large, typically; chop them up for salads or just sprinkle them with salt.Native to the volcanic soils in the shade of Mount Vesuvius in Italy, San Marzanos tomatoes are prized by chefs for their meaty texture and easy-to-peel skin. Marked with a little x at the bottom, blanched, and peeled, it makes for quick skinless fruit best-suited for pastas and sauces. San Marzanos are less watery and goopy than other tomatoes so there's very little waste. In winter months, when decent fresh tomatoes are nowhere to be found, canned imported San Marzanos are the tomato of choice forThis particular variety is also well-suited for oven drying and roasting because of its texture; there's much more concentrated tomato flavor because there's simply more tomato meat to go around. San Marzanos aren't a widely grown cultivar, but you can purchase seeds or plants and grow them yourself. That said, purists will argue that the taste just ain't the same without the volcanic soil; for the real deal, make sure they indicate"D.O.P." . If you do decide to grow them at home, be forewarned that they're a vining plant, and can reach six to eight feet or taller depending on growing conditions. They will need some serious staking or caging to keep them supported as they continue to produce fruit.
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