So in our hubris to create perfectly uniform red tomatoes, we accidentally bred out some sugar producing genes. Highly recommend trying an heirloom tomato, several old varieties from before we lost those genes. If youre lucky enough your grocer might have some, better odds with a farmers market but not guaranteed. The seeds are pretty easy to come by and its not too late to plant some this season.
This might sound obvious, but be ready to sample quite a few varieties of heirloom tomato to see which ones you like. Many varieties are just as bland as modern beef steak but others are unexpectedly, and beautifully, fruity. Don’t accidentally buy pounds of duds, get samples!
Try a tomato straight from the vine (not the ones with the dried up vine you can find in grocery stores). They taste much better and even have a sweetness to them. I used to absolutely hate them, but after having a fresh tomato from the vine, it’s changed my taste for them!
Canned tomatoes are still nasty, though.
I used to not like tomatoes and pulled them out of anything I ate, but they’re just whatever now. If anything I think they’re kind of tasteless, like an unsweet watermelon, I barely even notice them. Ketchup and tomato sauce seem to exaggerate their flavor (I’m guessing with whatever other stuff is added in).
I’m only okay with tomato if it’s diced and in a salsa or other dish or thinly sliced on a sandwich or burger.
Can’t stand it by itself, or if the ratio of whatever else I’m taking a bite with favors the tomato instead of literally anything else.
The closest thing to straight tomato I like is pico de gallo/bruschetta.
I can handle the whittled down dehydrated versions. Put a fat slice on a sandwich and I’ll fuckin hurl. I’ve tried dozens of times and it’s always gross
Stick a sundried few on a flatbread and I’m fine. Sauces and ketchup? Even better
But for sauces, no chunks of tomato. You turned a tomato into something good, why screw it up by having a mushy chunk of shit in it?
