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Yellow Tomato and Lemongrass Salad
Photo by: Chris Freeland
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The latest buzz in the fresh tomato business is the heirloom tomato. Remember those great-tasting tomatoes you ate as a kid but can't find anymore? Chances are they were grown with seeds to suit our climate, not seeds engineered to create long-lasting fruit suited to truck travel, like many of the tomatoes we find in supermarkets today.
Paul Hotchkiss is a commercial grower who is committed to growing heirloom species like the ones grown in Canada years ago. Unlike most greenhouse tomatoes, which are grown hydroponically (without soil), the 30-plus varieties of heirloom tomatoes growing in the Hotchkiss greenhouse are rooted in soil. Other farmers, such as David Cohlmeyer in Cookstown, Ont., grow organic heirloom tomatoes outdoors each summer.
The heirloom tomatoes these farmers plant produce a rainbow of beautifully coloured fruit, but it's the sweetly acidic, true tomato taste that makes them such a coveted treat. Tomatoes provide several nutrients that are essential for our bodies to function well. While many recipes call for peeled, seeded tomatoes, many of the nutrients are found in the skin and juicy bits around the seeds.
Tomatoes are good sources of vitamin C, beta carotene and lycopene, a powerful antioxidant found in the fruit's pigment that may reduce the risk of cancer.
Make raw tomatoes, tomato sauce and tomato juice a regular part of your diet to get these important nutrients in an enjoyable, delicious way.
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