The Tomato Diaries: lessons, savings, and one last recipe before the veggie farewell

And just like that, the series of tomato-laden recipes has ended. My stash of decent-looking tomatoes acquired three weeks ago has diminished — barring the few that I have frozen because I plan to make tomato sauce.

I’ve thought about ways of ending the tomato series with a bang. Not only has the series ended but also my journey of vegetarianism during February. Come 1 March, and my carnivorous habits will be restored. 

I’ve learnt a lot about tomatoes during the series, and with your patience, I’d love to offer some reflections. 

The first lesson is that, as an adult, I still cannot reconcile with the fact that tomatoes are technically a fruit because they develop from a flower and contain seeds. However, in culinary terms,  tomatoes are often treated as a vegetable because of their savoury flavour. Now this makes sense to me.

The second lesson is that storage is important for extending the shelf life of tomatoes. My default in the past when I purchased tomatoes was to store them in the refrigerator. However, this is the wrong way of storing tomatoes and there is some science. Cold temperatures affect tomato cell structures, making them mealy and dull in taste. So, it’s best to store them at room temperature. I stored my tomato stash in a dark place in my kitchen. I think this played a part in keeping my tomatoes edible, three weeks after purchasing them. 

Keeping tomatoes for that long is not ideal for most households, especially if there’s more than one person and cooking is done every day. I am a bachelor living alone and I don’t cook every day — so having a stash of tomatoes for three weeks is easier and normal. 

The third lesson is that buying tomatoes in large quantities is cheaper. What inspired this series was weighing up which tomato options offered value for money when I recently shopped online for groceries. To recap, the options for tomatoes were the following: a 500g bag of baby tomatoes for R29,99, a 1kg bag of Roma tomatoes also for R29,99, or a 2kg bag of Roma tomatoes for a more costly R49,99. 

It turned out that a 2kg bag of Roma tomatoes offers the best value for money. 

Read more: How shopping for tomatoes humbled me

The lesson here is that retailers should reform their pricing architecture to make it easier for consumers to measure units of the same size — grammes vs kilogrammes — when determining value and volume for money. Thankfully, South Africa’s competition authority has given retailers two years to reform their pricing architecture. 

The last lesson is that tomatoes are the unsung heroes of versatility. Potatoes probably take the versatility cup, but tomatoes are also right up there. Their natural sweetness and acidity complement any dish. I’m sure tomatoes can be used in desserts, though I have not ventured into this domain. The universe of tomatoes is vast, with thousands of varieties available. If I made a dessert using them, I’d probably use cherry tomatoes, which tend to be small, sweet, and juicy. 

The versatility of tomatoes has prompted me to make tomato soup with a grilled cheese sandwich, a vegetarian tomato bredie, and shakshuka (or shakshouka). Read the recipes below and try them out:

• Bupper (breakfast for supper) — because it just tastes better at night


• Tomato bredie with a reluctant vegetarian twist

Ray’s stuffed tomato ready to eat. (Photo: Ray Mahlaka)

Ingredients

Method 

Preparing the filling. (Photo: Ray Mahlaka)

Ready to bake. (Photo: Ray Mahlaka)