Comments about ‘Pick a winner: Want a good tomato? Best bet is to go local’

I took a Mexican food cooking class from a woman who never uses salt. She uses powdered chicken buillon. Just as salty but with some extra flavor!

For what it's worth; great idea. Food Inc has ruined tomatoes. If, I don't grow them, I don't eat them. Support your local folks. Corporate America has money. Buying local keeps money local.

I`ve been growing tomatoes nearly 50 years. Anonymous 10:40 does not know what he/she is talking about. I think heirlooms are over rated and a fad. I`ve grown scores of heirlooms, but find many will be lost to blight.And really don`t taste all that great. I like a Black Krim for flavor, but not good for canning. I grow Heartland,Celebrity,and Romas. These are resistant to blight and are delicious when picked at the right time. They all process well.I home process about 350 bottles of juice, whole tomatoes, and sauces every year. I have about 175 plants in my garden. I`ve lost one.

Tomatoes is the best thing to can, we grow nearly 50 plants a year and put up enough for the rest of the year. They're delicious in the winter time!

My faves are the miniature yellow pear-shaped tomatoes. Dunno what they're called but they were so good, you could just eat them off the plant.

Agree with Mike. Heirloom's aren't better tasting. Modern, disease resistent varieties are best for the home grower as flavor is good and production is superior. Try buying a bunch of types at a farmers market and doing a blind taste test at home. It's fun to taste the variety and nuance of flavors.

Best store-bought tomato is Campari, hand's down. Good flavor, texture, and unbelievable shelf life--even in the middle of winter. As for best varieties for the garden, in my experience, if it's grown in the garden, it generally tastes great. Really. So, grow what you like. Fresh tomatoes, grown in the native soil, just taste a lot better than 99% of tomatoes purchased at the store, most of which are grown for looks and ease of transport (like Red Delicious apples--look good, ship well, taste terrible.)

Thanks for all the good info on Tomatoes. I don't know why but I did not like tomatoes until I was about 49 years old (now 53) now I just love them but I still don't like them on sandwiches or burgers.
I have had some good tasting Heirlooms and well as local var. Right now we are at our summer home in MT for 3 months and anything local is hard to find. Plan on being in SLC in 10 days and picking up a large number to bring back to MT to share with neighbors who are also from SLC but live up here in summer.

Of tomatoes, nothing beats a fresh one off the vine.

About the powdered chicken bouillon -- it tastes good, but try to find a brand that does not have MSG in it. MSG is an excitotoxin that can damage the central nervous system.

MSG is also present in hydrolyzed vegetable proteins, autolyzed yeast, soy extracts, disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate, and "natural flavorings."

I'm salivating after reading all this! I also love heirloom tomatoes. I enjoy seeing the rich, darker red color juxtaposed with tomatoes of the usual color of red. Mmm!

The best tomatoes in Utah come from Brock's Produce. They always pick them fresh and always have the BEST tomatoes. I can't wait for them to open up this year!