Ugly but Delicious!
August is the most delicious time for tomatoes. The taste and smell of sun-ripened field tomatoes is an extraordinary flavor explosion. It is not easy to describe the taste of tomatoes. It is a tad sweet and has a slight sugar content, on the other hand, there is that distinct sour acidic taste that contrasts with this sweetness. Interestingly, even without salt, it has a mineral structure that is somewhat salty depending on where it grows and its variety. This feature almost explodes when salt is added, turning eating a good tomato into a phenomenal taste experience.
Tomatoes also have a secret flavor weapon. It is the glutamate content. The glutamate content of tomatoes is very high, which is why they are unique in terms of umami content, which is described as the fifth taste. When eating a raw tomato other factors such as the juiciness, the thinness of the skin and firmness of the flesh are also very important. These days, however, it's not easy to find good tomatoes even in season. Many are grown in greenhouses, but it is also the varieties that keep changing, and the naked truth is that tomatoes are not as they used to be. With every other bland tomato, we whirl down the alley of tomato nostalgia and lament about the absence of “yerli domates” that is the word for “local tomatoes” a term standing for “heirloom” varieties. But do we really know our local tomatoes?
It was mid-august and a chef in a top-hotel proudly presented us an heirloom tomato salad plate, in hopes that we will applaud excitedly, but to his disappointment, he felt as if he crashed into a wall when driving full-speed. Together with my food historian friend Dr. Özge Samancı, we fiercely objected, bombarding him with questions. The tomatoes were all sizes and colors, from tiny cherry tomatoes, to oblong shaped yellow ones the size of a quail egg, and there were dark purplish ones and big meaty ones with a coral-red hue. Their tastes varied, some beefy ones tastier, some were just weak, thin and watery. Anyway, the plate seemed to me that it was more about the looks than taste. Our objection was that our ancestors did not even see any of those so-called “heirloom” tomatoes, they were apparently new varieties. Coming back home, I checked the seed sites, and saw that there were countless such new varieties, all marketed as “heirloom” aimed at catering to fancy restaurants. How ancestral are the tomatoes that adorn chef's tables as heirloom tomatoes? Do we really know the good old varieties? Do they still exist, or are they already on the verge of extinction? These questions linger on in my mind since we were served that supposedly “heirloom” plate.
Of course, my search for old varieties continued. Next was the Geographical Appellation website in search for “local” or “indigenous” tomatoes. First of all, this statement “local” or “indigenous” is far from being true. As we all know, the tomato plant came from America which was initially viewed with suspicion in Europe and the Mediterranean countries, it took some while before it was adapted to cuisines. Then happened what I call the “Red Revolution” in kitchens. Tomato became the most wanted ingredient in the cuisines of especially Mediterranean, Balkan, Anatolian and Middle Eastern regional cuisines, dyeing the dishes in a red color. Still, it was not until after the mid-1800s, that we see tomato as a major ingredient transforming the dishes, and it took until the 20th century for it to become truly widespread. That means even our oldest tomato is at most only a century and a half old. Undoubtedly, there are many tomato varieties that loved the soil they were cultivated in, which eventually created a distinctive species of their own through hybridization, or, on the contrary, did not hybridize and remained as a stable species. These are the ones which we generally call indigenous.
Unfortunately, my check on the website was not fruitful, the ones with geographical indications were very few. In Türkiye, the tomatoes of Çanakkale province are considered to be one of the best. To my surprise, even the Çanakkale tomato received a geographical indication registration only about a month ago, on July 13, 2023. The situation with another famed tomato grown in Ayaş near Ankara was no different. Although the original seed of Ankara's Ayaş tomato is said to have disappeared long ago, it got a Geographical Indication a year ago in October, but there is no detailed information about the variety. The Gazidere tomato from Boyabat, Sinop has similar characteristics with that of Safranbolu Maniye variety. Big and beefy! However, its shape is a bit different, it has a tiny part in the middle as if a second tomato is about to grow, and it has a crooked structure with large bulbous segments. For this reason, it is popularly known as the “çirkin domates” aka "ugly tomato."
The Sivas Koyulhisar tomato takes the first place for having bad looks. This tomato, which sometimes takes strange shapes like two tomatoes stuck together, differentiates itself in flavor and smell. Among other varieties, one caught my eye with its distinctive properties explained in detail: Bingöl's Guldar/Güldar variety. The distinguishing feature of this tomato, which we have never heard of, is described as the crystalline structure inside. Apparently, there are glutamate crystals formed that give a high umami profile to this tomato which grows in fields with a microclimate that is surrounded and protected by oak shrub forests in the high geography of Bingöl at an altitude of 1,500-1,600 meters. As with all fruits, the day and night temperature difference due to the high altitude causes phenolic values to be high, hence the intensified flavor. It is also stated that Guldar tomatoes are grown in potassium-rich soil. This tomato, which they say has a 130-year history in the region, seems to be a candidate to be recognized as a true “heirloom” tomato, to become the new star of our tables. No matter the looks, let's say the uglier the better, better it be truly local!
