My pick this week are those fantastic sweet snacking tomatoes in punnets - this week its Medley mix tomatoes. Spring is when the new season for these starts, the quality and taste improves, and the price comes back, and this year they are right back again. These tomatoes have now displaced the traditional truss and field tomatoes to some extent and allowed the whole category to grow. This week we have a real bargain with our medley mix tomatoes - at a price we have not seen for years. Fantastic in salads, to snack on or to cook with. I would recommend you buy a couple of weeks’ worth.
Snacking tomatoes are more popular all the time. The reason for this demand we are seeing is that field and truss tomatoes have been put under such tremendous price pressure by the major supermarkets that the big growers have had to grow the highest yielding varieties to make a small profit. Some growers of these varieties are producing to the price point not the flavour profile. We are lucky enough to be supplied by one of the growers that still cares about flavour. However, at this stage the punnets of snacking tomatoes still have great flavour and when on special are actually quite reasonably priced even compared to regular tomatoes. So this week, we have Medley mix on special and they equate to around 7 or 8 dollars a kg.
HOW TO PICK
Look for brightly coloured tomatoes with firm, shiny skin. Turn the punnet upside down to check fruit is fresh looking throughout.
HOW TO STORE
Store at room temperature for better tasting tomatoes.
