Winter Tomato Update

We have five small bunches of pomodorini, or hanging tomatoes, remaining in basement storage.

Two of them are made up of Aprile tomatoes and three of Ponderosas, all harvested on September 16th. Pomodorini should be stored at their peak, however, the threat of last fall’s Tropical Storm Irene compelled us to bring them in early. Given the choice, we would have left them on the vine longer to ripen. They’ve been hanging in storage for almost 4½ months now and are slowly losing moisture, with some succumbing altogether.

Once picked through and brought up from the basement into the light of day, their prospect brightens. The larger, yellow ones are Ponderosas, the smaller red ones are Aprile, and are all similar in size to a cherry tomato.

Though they were harvested too early, we cut a few open and found them surprisingly viable. Pomodorini aren't meant to take the place of a ripe, summer tomato. Instead, they add a bit of welcome freshness during the winter months. These pomodorini ended up sauteed, then slid in with some scrambled eggs for a sunny mid-winter breakfast.

Note: My apologies, I have no idea how to get photos onto this site — for accompanying photographs, please visit www.diaryofatomato.com:
http://diaryofatomato.com/2012/01/31/11-29-12-pomodorini-update/