Feb 10, 2026 – Andy is in OurLittleCorner today
You Say Tomato; I Say Yuck! (when it’s off-season)
The other day Ann asked me to do the impossible — stop by our market to get some “nice” fresh tomatoes for the hamburgers we were planning that evening. Everyone knows that, at their best, most of the fresh tomatoes found in our markets at this time of the year may be shaped like tomatoes, red like tomatoes, but are virtually tasteless.
So I was very interested in reading William Alexander’s recent NY Times opinion piece about off-season tomatoes entitled How Has a Food This Bad Survived the American Market for So Long? His opening paragraph is a not-so-subtle rebuke of those tomato wannabes found in our local markets at this time of the year:
“The food critic Craig Claiborne once labeled them ‘tasteless, hideous and repulsive.’ James Beard called them ‘an almost total gastronomic loss.’ The New Yorker writer Thomas Whiteside found in 1977 that one survived a six-foot fall onto the floor intact, thus easily exceeding the federal standard for automobile bumpers.“
The problem with off-season tomatoes is a big deal. Americans consume around 31 pounds of tomatoes per person annually, making them the second most-consumed vegetable after the potato (keeping in mind the awkward fact that a the tomato is technically a fruit).
Why are American-grown tomatoes so horrible in the off season?
It pretty much boils down to economics (and deception). For tomatoes to be commercially viable their taste is of little concern for growers. Immunity to disease and insects and their transportability trump (no reference intended) flavor. Sweetness is deliberately bred out of these tomatoes because high sugar levels can attract bacteria and fungi and reduce yield. Plus, it’s essential that these tomatoes survive being transported in bulk all around the country, which is why they’re picked while “still bright green and rock hard.” The red color you see in the market is from doses of ethylene gas.
Why these horrible tomatoes have remained marketable is a bit more complicated. The short answer is that we have little other choice if we crave “fresh” tomatoes any time in the off season; it’s a beggars-can’t-be-choosers sort of thing akin to the end of strawberry season around here — which is agonizing.
But what complicates things is that US-grown tomatoes, while dominating the market, don’t necessarily have to be the only show in town. Up until now varieties imported from Mexico have been available in our local markets and, more importantly, these Mexican tomatoes, as Alexander puts it, have “a modicum” of flavor a notch or two above the “soggy cardboard and Styrofoam” taste of the US-grown tomatoes. However, Florida growers complained that these imported tomatoes represented unfair competition and consequently were rewarded this last July with a 17% tariff being slapped on imported Mexican tomatoes. Interestingly, no such tariffs were levied on Canadian tomatoes despite their growing share of the US market (you can read more about this here).
[As an aside, I was interested to learn that this is not the first time an American president has placed tariffs on Mexican tomatoes. In 1883 President Chester A. Arthur imposed a 10% tax on imported vegetables but not on fruits. Because the tomato is botanically a fruit, it required a unanimous Supreme Court ruling (Nix v. Hedden) to legally define a tomato as a vegetable for customs purposes. It’s also noteworthy that President Arthur signed the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the first significant law restricting immigration into the United States. Evidently not a lot of political water has gone under the bridge since then. ]
For those wondering about the tomatoes Ann asked me to buy for our hamburgers I should report that, in addition to the large amount of the dreaded Florida-based tomatoes, our market did have some Kumato tomatoes imported from Mexico. They definitely were not as tasty as our summer garden tomatoes, but at least you can tell the difference between them and soggy cardboard.
Who would have thought that those off-season slices of tomato in our hamburgers would come with such politically-charged baggage? I was willing (and fortunately able) to fork out the extra cash for a passable tomato. Whether or not we continue to have imported off-season tomatoes in our markets remains to be seen. In the mean time I’ll keep my eye peeled for alternatives to our domestic varieties and hope to survive until the return of our summer (real) tomatoes.
You are right, of course. But we have found Campari Tomatoes grown in US greenhouses (where in US not specified) at Costco for a little less than $3/lb that are surprisingly good.
Thanks for the info. I’ve read that Campari tomatoes are mostly imported from Canadian and Mexican greenhouses although some are greenhoused in “some parts” of the US. Less than $3/lb is a good price (I think my Kumato ones were around $6.99/lb).
FAD: Try marinating sliced or chopped tomatoes. 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tbs red wine vinegar, 3 tbs evoo for 5-10 min. max. I do this all the time with Romas.
Thanks Charlie. It’s a treat to get a tip from such an accomplished chef. Off-season Romas need all the help they can get.