• Cherokee purples are rich and sweet and range from dusky rose to deep red or purple-black.
• Yellow Pears are shaped like miniature pears and have a sweet taste and sunny yellow color. 
• Green zebras are also sweet and come in rich green with lighter stripes from top to bottom, while Red Zebras have the same pattern in a riper color. 
• Brandywines come in a rainbow from pink to deep red, with intense tomato flavor 
• Gold Medals have a light skin but the flesh is blushed with pink to match its sweetness.

Like all tomatoes, heirlooms are rich with vitamin C and antioxidants. One key antioxidant, lycopene, is quite plentiful in ripe red tomatoes, and may help reduce the risk of not only heart disease, but possibly  some cancers, such as lung and prostate cancers. Recent research suggests cooking with some healthy olive oil will help the body absorb this nutrient, and cooking tomatoes in general has been shown to increase the amount of lycopene the body can absorb by breaking down the cells that trap the substance. But it’s a tradeoff, since cooking destroys other nutrients. The solution? Enjoy them raw and cooked. Which brings us to preparation.

Chefs’ serving ideas 

ShopSmart recently spoke to a few renowned chefs about their favorite ways to prepare heirlooms. Chef Laurent Tourondel of the BLT family of restaurants in New York City recommends smashing them on a crusty, freshly grilled slice of bread seasoned with salt and pepper to let their juice and flavor shine—or serve in a more elaborate salad with grilled watermelon, ricotta salata, red onion, and cilantro.

Paul Kahan, the chef at Blackbird in Chicago, told ShopSmart that he is partial to the lemony green Zebra tomatoes, sliced and drizzled with olive oil and lemon juice, served with grilled fish. He also recommends marinating Brandywine tomatoes with Vidalia onions in a red-wine vinaigrette with thyme, and tossing in a salad of arugula.

San Francisco chef, Traci Des Jardins, of Jardiniere restaurant, advises splitting the tomatoes in half, and broiling them briefly with a sprinkle of oil, salt and pepper, and topping them with bread crumbs and garlic oil, to accompany chicken or fish. She also offered a quick salad of sliced heirlooms with olives cucumber, croutons and parsley, with grilled shrimp.

Picking and storing

Don’t rely on the color—go with the feel. Heirlooms come in a plethora of colors, and some are beautifully ripe when green, so pick a weighty one full of juice, with taut, smooth, vibrant skin. The flesh should give a little. Don’t refrigerate tomatoes. The cold saps their flavor and makes them mealy. Use them within three days, and store at room temperature on the counter. They’ll brighten the room with their color.

Unfortunately a fungal disease called late blight—which caused the Irish potato famine—has been hitting some regions’ tomatoes hard this year. That may affect pricing and availability. If you grow your own, watch your tomato plants for fungal infection. If your plants get the disease, you’ll need to pull them. And don’t compost them or you may breed the fungus for next year’s crop. Check out this guide from Ohio State University.

—Kevin McCarthy, associate editor

For more on heirloom tomatoes, go to GreenerChoices.org.

Photos courtesy of Chrstyl and SummerTomatoes