Judy Dodd, MS, RD, LDN, Giant Eagle^® Corporate Nutritionist

It is tomato season — which means you'll find a steady supply of a nutritious food with endless uses and peak flavor. So are tomatoes vegetables or a fruit? Tomatoes are a fruit (it develops from the flower of a plant) but we treat them like a vegetable in our meal planning and according to an official court ruling.

Americans consume over 12 million tons of tomatoes a year in a variety of forms — including raw, cooked, in sauces, on sandwiches and salads, on pizza, in salsa, as ketchup, and as juice. From a nutrition standpoint, tomatoes are a great source of Vitamin C and also offer potassium, fiber and beta-carotene. The pigment or color contains lycopene, a nutritionally important carotenoid that is believed to have a protective role in the body.

Although the Vitamin C value of tomatoes can be lowered in cooking, lycopene is more readily available when tomatoes are cooked. The calories in a tomato are low (about 24 calories for one cup of chopped raw tomato). The source of calories is mostly carbohydrate (about five grams in one cup), with no fat and about one gram of protein. This makes tomatoes a heart healthy, diabetes-friendly food.

Let's take a look at getting the most from tomatoes:

• Select tomatoes that are firm without any cuts or splits on the skin.
• Store tomatoes at room temperature away from direct sunlight for two to three days. They will continue to ripen.
• To ripen them more quickly, place them in a paper bag stem up. Punch several holes in the bag and fold the top down. The tomatoes will emit an ethylene gas that helps them ripen. Adding a banana or an apple to the bag can speed up the ripening process.
• Refrigerate cut tomatoes or over-ripe tomatoes. Refrigeration changes the flavor and texture. Cut tomatoes should be placed in a food storage container or plastic bag.
To peel a tomato, start with a washed tomato, a pot of boiling water and a bowl with ice and water.


• Cut an X shape into the bottom of the tomato, plunge it into a pot of boiling water for 30 seconds (the peel should be lifting at the edges), remove it and place it in ice water.
• After five minutes, remove the tomato from ice water and peel away the skin with your hands or a small paring knife.
• Use or refrigerate.
• Need to seed a tomato quickly? Cut it in half across the middle, hold each half over a container and squeeze it — you'll pop out the seeds but leave the tomato intact.
• Check out the different varieties, choices and colors of tomatoes. Yellow tomatoes are generally considered to be lower in acid. Organically grown tomatoes and heirloom or heritage tomatoes may not look as "pretty," but offer great flavor. Cherry or grape tomatoes are good for two-bite dipping as well as for adding to salads.

Try these other cooking ideas

• Crush some Giant Eagle^® cornflakes in a plastic bag and use the mixture to coat thick slices of tomatoes.
  
  
  • Spray a cookie sheet with Giant Eagle^® vegetable oil spray.
  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Place tomato slices on the cookie sheet, spray again with oil and sprinkle with Giant Eagle^® grated Parmesan cheese.
  • Bake in oven for 10 minutes.
• Go for the traditional salad of fresh basil, fresh tomatoes and fresh mozzarella with a drizzle of Giant Eagle^® extra-virgin olive oil and Market District^® balsamic vinegar. Try adding some black olives or marinated artichoke hearts and place the ingredients on a ready to bake pizza crust for a great Margherita pizza.
• Add chopped fresh tomatoes to your favorite recipe for chili, Spanish rice, soup, stir fry, or macaroni and cheese.
• Cook and freeze tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes or tomato juice for later use.
• Make salsa.
• Add tomatoes to grilled cheese sandwiches.
• Stuff whole, firm tomatoes with mixtures of ground meat (or turkey) and grains (we recommend Giant Eagle^® cooked brown or white rice, quinoa or couscous). Or, go meatless by using tofu and grain or vegetable mixtures.
• Add grilled tomatoes to the menu either as halves (grilled on foil) or by threading small or cherry tomatoes on skewers.

Need recipes? Contact Nutrition@gianteagle.com.