Ripe with Possibilities Heirloom tomatoes add color, flavor, variety to late-summer meals

You say tomato, I say Orange Banana. But let’s not call the whole thing off. At Rogers Farm in Stillwater, tomato and Orange Banana are one and the same. And that’s only one of 36 heirloom varieties ripening on the vines, with ice-cream-shop names such as Peppermint, Broad Ripple Yellow and Garden Peach (which, by the way, is fuzzy).

“That’s what’s so neat about tomatoes – there are just so many,” master gardener Sara Speidel said Monday while sitting in a shady spot near the tomato garden. “Having more tomatoes just means having more flavors, more colors, more stories, more recipes.”

Speidel of Bangor worked with Anne Price of Orland and Dorothy Bennett of Lamoine to nurture the garden over the last few months. It was a tough summer for tomatoes, with cool periods of heavy rain followed by scorching drought conditions, but they made it and are now harvesting the fruits of their labor.

“There’s so much variation among tomatoes,” Speidel said. “Some are becoming more popular, you can see them at farmers markets, but to get a good selection, you really have to grow them at home.”

And what a selection they have. There are black, white, pink, yellow, green, brown and orange varieties. Some look like globes, grapes, sausages or eggs, and one even resembles a hog’s heart. Some grow too quickly, resulting in cracks. The cracks aren’t pretty, but they don’t affect the taste of the tomato. Many are attractive, some are ugly but tasty, but each has a distinct flavor.

A lot of the impact is visual, though, when serving heirlooms. For a tomato tasting last night, the women were planning to make a “black salsa,” combining Black Prince or Black Plum tomatoes with purple or dark green peppers. But one of the most attractive ways to prepare heirlooms is to simply slice them and arrange them on a platter, drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Adding sliced fresh mozzarella and basil leaves turns tomatoes into a light meal or a satisfying first course.

“The colors are just amazing,” Bennett said. “They’re just so gorgeous.”

When you toss grocery-store tomatoes with pasta, basil, garlic, olive oil, a splash of vinegar and cubes of brie or mozzarella, the creamy, full flavor makes a memorable meal. But adding heirloom varieties such as Caspian Pink, Black Brandywine, Jaune Flammee and Mr. Stripey is like tossing a handful of gems on top.

“With different colored tomatoes, it’s even more exciting,” Bennett said.

The texture is also exciting. Some, such as Costoluto Genovese, are meaty and rich. While the fuzzy Garden Peach is hollow and perfect for stuffing.

“The fuzzy tomato was a really nice surprise because we read about it, but we didn’t really believe it was going to be fuzzy,” Speidel said.

Each of the tomatoes has a story behind its name or its provenance. The Garden Peach was called that for obvious reasons, but other names, such as Broad Ripple Yellow, may be a little more obscure. The plant, which yields 1/2-inch fruit, was found growing out of a crack in a sidewalk in the Broad Ripple neighborhood of Indianapolis.

“You just eat it like candy,” Bennett said. “It’s delicious.”

Cosmonaut Volkov, a giant tomato that came to the United States from Russia via the Seed Savers Exchange, is named in memory of Vladislav Volkov, who died during a landing.

“Our strains come from all over the world,” Speidel said. “There are a lot of different cultures represented here in the garden.”

Ciudad Victoria, a cherry tomato, is cultivated in the dooryard gardens of Ciudad Victoria, a town in Tamaulipas, Mexico. It is the closest known descendant of the original wild tomatoes, which grow like weeds in the coastal valleys of Peru. And Jaune Flammee, which translates as “yellow flame,” is a French heirloom traditionally used in salads.

While the plants have international origins, most of the seeds came from Maine companies such as Johnny’s Selected Seeds, Fedco Seeds and Whitehill Farm, which sells more than 100 varieties of tomato seedlings. Heirloom varieties have gained popularity in the last decade and the gardening industry has taken notice.

“Actually, it’s easy to find them,” Speidel said. “We have great resources in Maine and that’s where we get most of our seeds.”

The growing season was a bit short for several of the heirlooms. Though they produced plenty of fruit, it hasn’t all ripened yet. If the frost holds off for a couple of weeks, the late bloomers will be OK. But the early varieties have thrived.

Among the heirlooms that the group recommends for Maine gardeners are Glacier, a cold-tolerant variety that they started harvesting 42 days after they transplanted it. Jaune Flammee is an early variety that fared well here. Black Plum, Yellow Perfection, Cosmonaut Volkov, White Wonder, White Beauty and Cherokee Purple all were favorites with few problems. And Nepal, which comes from the Himalayas, grows well in cool weather and can be picked green and allowed to ripen indoors.

“The goals for the garden were to try to see what would grow here and see what we’d like,” Speidel said. “Also, to encourage people who might be interested in growing heirloom varieties and saving seed but who may not know where to start.”

A visit to Rogers Farm is a great way to start. The garden is clearly marked, with a variety of staking options on display. A packet of information detailing each tomato, growing techniques and sources will be available in the mailbox near the main entrance to the demonstration garden. But even if you don’t have a chance to visit the garden, the women’s advice is simple: Don’t be afraid to try something new.

“There’s nothing we haven’t liked,” Price said. “Every one of these is somebody’s favorite for something.”

Rogers Farm is located on Route 16 in Stillwater. The tomato garden is located over the hill at the back right of the Penobscot County Master Gardeners Demonstration Garden, near the woods.