Our guiding word for this issue was Ripe, so you’ll find these pages bursting with the fruits of summer—tomatoes, most prominently. In fact, we’ve been informally referring to this issue as Ode to the Tomato.
Tomatoes are one of the most outgoing garden edibles. Even as little baby plants, they let off the most intoxicating scent. They’ll let you know exactly how they feel. They like it hot. They demand to be planted at juuuust the right time (a time known only to the weather gods). Too late and they’re unable to live up to their full potential during our short Wisconsin summers. Too soon and you may bear witness to an epic tragedy, like last summer, when a late May frost dashed my tomato dreams, decimating most of my plants and those of my neighbors in our community garden. (Oh, the horror!) They love to keep you guessing. What is the best way to prune them? When will they finally ripen? Answer: later than you think, and then all at once. After longing for good tomatoes all year, you’ll suddenly have more than you know what to do with.
Of course, all the drama of growing them is more than worth it. Bright, juicy, and full of personality, they’re the most glaring example of the often deep flavor gap between industrial agriculture and what you grow in your own backyard. Good tomatoes are precious, fleeting, and precious because they’re fleeting. All of the ways we’ve found to eat and store tomatoes are a negotiation with their fleeting nature. How do we enjoy this season to the fullest? How can we stay present through the longest, hottest, busiest days of the year? What do we do with all these tomatoes? Can we find time to put a few jars away for the slower months, when we’ll long for the sunny madness of summer? We hope this issue helps you take a little time out to ponder these questions and more.
Let’s dig in!
Lauren Langtim
Managing Editor
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