Tomatoes in the Winter

Once a week, on recycling day, I become fully aware of just how many tomatoes that I eat, my bin overflowing with washed and unlabeled empty tomato cans. During the winter, when tomatoes are woefully out of season, I resort to the tinned variety to whip up some tomato sauce for whatever purpose. Canned tomatoes are a perfect ingredient to remind me of summer, even if February still seems like an impenetrable barrier from spring. Their freshness is preserved in the can from when they were picked at their peak.

Although tomatoes are available year round in the supermarket, the watery globes available in the winter are bland and inedible. The one tomato product to grace the produce shelves that still has some redeemable qualities are the tiny cherry or teardrop tomatoes. The smaller tomatoes are typically sweeter than the larger varieties and still quite palatable, even in the coldest months. Since they can still be a touch bitter during the winter season, roasting them is a great way to bring their natural sweetness to the forefront. In fact, roasting any vegetable will caramelize its natural sugars and make them taste sweeter. Bell peppers, onions, garlic, and any root vegetables, which are fantastic during the winter anyway, such as carrots and parsnips, are great examples of this.
Tomatoes in the Winter…