Early Girl is Here

Last week I received a phone call from the produce lady of Bi-Rite Market.  She said that Early Girl tomatoes would be in the store for a month or so.  That was happy news.  I had been asking grocers at my favorite markets for weeks about Early Girl, and all they could say was “they are coming soon”.  Early Girl ripens early in the tomato season, but weird weather in recent years makes it difficult to forecast its availability.  Last year I missed it altogether; I checked every week in early summer to no avail, then one day a junior grocer at the Co-op rolled her eyes and said impatiently, “Early Girl was an early tomato.  This is already August.”  Bitch!

Why am I so crazy about Early Girl?  Because it is the only sweet tomato that I can find in markets these days.  Okay, I have exaggerated a little: there are some orange colored cherry tomatoes that are sweet too.  Interestingly, red and yellow cherry tomatoes, even those from the same source as the orange ones, are not tasty at all.  I have no idea why that is the case.

Back in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when heirloom tomatoes from small local producers were sold at some farmers’ markets and special stores, they were expensive but delicious.  Starting in mid-2000, with big producers entering the market, heirloom tomatoes were available everywhere.  When I saw them in supermarkets, I knew that the end had come.  While the price dropped by half or more, and the look was the same as before, their taste was bland.  Even the ones at farmers’ markets (where not all vendors were farmers) did not guarantee taste any more.  My conclusion is that heirloom or not is not important; what matters are the production and distribution processes.  Only your local small farmers, or yourself if you are a gardener, can supply fresh vine ripe tasty tomatoes in season.

It was around that time that I found Early Girl.  It is a hybrid developed in France.  Its seeds were sold in the U.S. since 1975.  It is usually dry farmed, meaning that the vine is planted deep and it is not irrigated after planting.  The process results in small tomatoes with a concentrated flavor.   

Anyway, the day after I got the call from Bi-Rite, I drove there for the long awaited tomatoes.  On my way, I stopped at Monterey Market.  They had Early Girl too, and Odoriko as well (Odoriko 踊り子卜マト is a Japanese hybrid similar to Momotaro 桃太郎卜マト, a tomato that is very popular in Japan).  There were also Turkish figs, Washington Rainier cherries and Santa Rosa plums.  I got some of each.  At Bi-Rite, I bought more Early Girl tomatoes.  They filled up two bowls at home.

The Early Girl tomatoes from Bi-Rite were sweet and tasty though the skin was a bit on the thick side.  I ate some as is, and also make my usual tomato corn basil salad.  I need to go to Bi-Rite again for more. 

Those from Monterey Market, and the Odoriko, were not as sweet.  I cooked them to make a tomato broth for now (I cut the tomatoes into halves and cooked them in a covered pot over low heat.  There was no need to add water.  Toward the end, I added a little bit of sugar and black vinegar for flavor and complexity).  I may turn it into a tomato jam later.