Yellow Pear Tomatoes
My mother warned me when I told her about the tomatoes I had planted this year that yellow pears were lousy. I had already put my plants in the ground, didn’t think about the opportunity costs for the space, and didn’t really believe they could be that bad — I usually love cherry tomatoes! My mother was right; no surprise. One of the farmers at the California Ave. market put it best when I asked her honest opinion on them: “they’re just filler.” She was right too. They are amazingly prolific plants, and they are pretty, but their raw flavor is bland and dull.
Fortunately, they do improve with cooking: so far we’ve made them into a lovely tomato soup and roasted them with curried cauliflower. Next up: pasta sauce.
As for next year: I’ll be using the yellow pear’s spot for a more interesting varietal. Stay tuned for the judgements from this summer’s many tastings.
Nicole said,
September 19, 2007 @ 7:21 am
I will be curious to hear about your foray into pasta sauce using your cherry tomatoes. I grew the yellow pears a few years ago and found myself overloaded and sort of uninterested in eating them.
Olivia Teich said,
September 19, 2007 @ 9:35 am
Hi Nicole,
The pasta sauce was simple and actually turned out really well! Just lightly caramelized onion plus the yellow pears halved lengthwise, some fresh herbs and basil and a bit of hot pepper. I might cook the onions separately next time though to keep the brighter color of the sauce. I also made the latest bunch picked into gazpacho this weekend, which was excellent! I’m not saying I would plant the yellow pears again, but at least they haven’t been a total waste…
Olivia