At the Sarasota Downtown Farmer's Market this weekend, I found an incredible selection of heirloom tomatoes at the Brown Grove stand. Over a dozen varieties, all grown by a guy in Wauchula, according to the Brown guy. Surprise, surprise. I didn't think there was anyone in the area with this big a concentration of difficult to find tomato varieties. I packed a big brown bag and headed home for a salad. A little basil, a little balsamic and some good olive oil — a glorious lunch.
Check them out at the Brown stand over the next couple of weeks, because we'll soon be past the growing season.
Here are the varieties I sampled:
- marmande – fantastically ripe and classic
- pink beauty – tart tomato acidity, very bright flavor
- Mr. Strippy – very meaty with an almost smoky flavor
- green zebra – very balanced flavor that belies the beautiful striped green exterior
- cream sausage – my wife's favorite, this one contains an almost citrusy sweet-tart blast
- red pear
- pink brandy wine
- God love
This article appears in Jun 6-12, 2007.