Tomatoes in the Market

It’s summer in Rome and peeking through gaps in garden walls or spilling from planters on apartment balconies, one can see the tell-tale stakes and crimsoning signs of tomatoes growing across the city. The best place to find tomatoes and other fresh fruits and vegetables are from individual stands in open air markets scattered throughout the neighborhoods of the city.

Different types of tomatoes have different uses based on their physical properties. These differences must be understood if you want to navigate your way through sauces, salads, and stews. Tomatoes are foundational to Italian cuisine and combined with other seasonal vegetables make summer a celebration of taste and tradition.
Roman cuisine is uniquely tied to the seasons: certain recipes are only made when a particular ingredient is most fresh. From the simple pomodoria mezzo recipe from noted chef Carla Tomasi to the more complex creations found in pizzerias like Bonci, fresh seasonal vegetables form the basis of the best summer recipes. The average tourist is not well-versed in the differences in tomatoes, and this explanation may guide you through the endless produce stands in the city.

Available in every vegetable market, the plum or Roma tomato, is celebrated for its use in sauces because if its thick, meaty interior, relative absence of juices, fewer seeds and relative ease to peel. Best known of all plum tomatoes is the “San Marzano,” a tomato so closely identified with the Afro-Sarnese-Nocerino area in Campania that it was awarded the special protection of the Denominazione d’Oeigine Protetta (DOD) in 1996 by the European Union.  The San Marzano is a sweet variety of plum tomato, sweet with a full fleshy interior, low seed count, and low acidity. The tomato is so renowned for its taste and appeal that by tradition it is the tomato used in Neapolitan pizzas.

Another tomato, this one tear-shaped and from the same area of Compania is the ‘Principe Borghese’, a variety that stars as a favorite for sun-drying. The tomatoes are 1-2 centimeters, very dry, and full-flavored. They grow in full grape-like clusters on vines and are a favorite of specialty food products.
            Food critic Jamie Oliver has identified noteworthy varieties from the country. Tomatoes from Liguria include the ‘Cuor di Bue,’ known as the ox heart, a huge variety, strawberry-shaped and juicer than others available. Ribbed varieties smaller than the ox heart, include the ‘Costoluto Genovese,’ ‘C. Florentine,’ and ‘C. Do Parma.’ In the cherry tomatoes collection, a number of varieties are referred to as pomodori di Pachino, where tomatoes grow either in a sweet cherry shape (ciliegini) or date shape (datterini). The Pachino area of Sicily is famous for its tomato production where the climate allows varieties to grow nearly year-round in its volcanic soil.

Not all Roman markets will have all varieties during the summer. Your vegetable seller might explain the best tomato` to select for your dish and, if like mine, even suggest ways to enhance the recipe. Be sure to ask permission from the vendor before handling the produce, and make sure to take a close look at the quality of each tomato before you purchase. Using the best available variety will create the most appetizing and authentic Italian dishes.

--Grace Myers