Not All Tomatoes are The Same
With hundreds of varieties available—ranging in color, shape, size, and flavor—each tomato has specific qualities that make it ideal for certain dishes. Understanding the strengths of different tomato types can transform your cooking, whether you’re simmering sauce, slicing for sandwiches, or crafting a summer salad.
Here's a guide to the most common types and how to use them to their fullest.
Beefsteak Tomatoes: Best for Slicing
Large, meaty, and juicy, beefsteaks are the classic sandwich tomato. Their firm texture and mild sweetness make them perfect for layering on burgers, bagels, and toast. Due to their high
water content, they’re less ideal for cooking or sauces, but shine raw with a touch of salt and olive oil.
Roma (Plum) Tomatoes: Best for Sauces and Roasting
These oblong tomatoes have dense flesh and low moisture, which makes them perfect for cooking. Romas break down smoothly and concentrate beautifully
in flavor, making them the go-to for tomato sauce, paste, and oven roasting. Use them when you want deep tomato flavor without excess water.
Cherry Tomatoes: Best for Snacking and Quick Cooking
Tiny, sweet, and vibrant, cherry tomatoes come in red, yellow, orange, and even purple hues. Their thin skin and
juicy centers make them ideal for tossing into salads, skewers, or pasta dishes. Roasted briefly or blistered in a pan, they deliver an intense burst of flavor.
Grape Tomatoes: Best for Salads and Roasting
Similar to cherry tomatoes but slightly firmer and less watery, grape tomatoes hold their shape
well. This makes them excellent for raw applications like salads or for roasting whole. Their sweetness intensifies with heat, making them a staple for sheet-pan meals.
Heirloom Tomatoes: Best for Eating Raw
Known for their irregular shapes and rainbow colors, heirlooms are prized for their complex,
nuanced flavors—ranging from smoky to citrusy. Because they’re delicate and often costly, heirlooms are best enjoyed raw in dishes like Caprese salad or tomato tartines, where their beauty and taste can be fully appreciated.
Campari Tomatoes: Best for Balanced Sweetness
Larger than cherry tomatoes but
smaller than slicers, Camparis are known for their ideal balance of sweetness and acidity. They’re extremely versatile—great raw, roasted, or sautéed—and have a low seed-to-flesh ratio, making them a favorite for quick sauces or bruschetta.
Green Tomatoes: Best for Frying and Pickling
Unripe green
tomatoes (especially from beefsteak plants) have a firm texture and tart flavor. Most famous for frying in cornmeal, they also hold up well to pickling and chutneys. Their acidity pairs well with spicy or rich dishes.
San Marzano Tomatoes: Best for Classic Italian Sauces
A subtype of plum tomato grown in
Italy (and increasingly domestically), San Marzanos have a unique balance of sweetness and low acidity. Their flesh is dense with few seeds, which makes them ideal for slow-cooked sauces, soups, and canning.
