02/07/2016 Avoid home-grown tomatoes this summer for better ones post monsoon - The Economic Times

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Avoidhomegrowntomatoesthissummerforbetterones
postmonsoon
ByVikramDoctor,ETBureau|Jul02,2016,12.53AMIST PostaComment

MUMBAI:Hightomatopricesarenottherealproblem.TheymaybeavailableforRs80100
akiloinmetrosthesedays,butthisisacommonpricesurgeattheendofalonghot
summerandwithadelayedmonsoon.Farmerswillplanttomatoesastherainssetinand
soonpricesshouldstabilisetoRs3040perkilo.

Therealproblemiswhywepayeventhismuch.BecausemostIndiantomatoesdonot
deserveit.Theyarehardandtastelessandripenunevenly,soonesidecanbefirmwhile
theotherbecomesmush.Theirflavour,iftheyhaveanyatall,isjustsimplesourness,with
bitternotesattheskin.

Sometimesatthemarginsofvegetablemarketsyoufindfarmersfromnearthecitywho Therealproblemiswhywepayeventhismuch.Becausemost
Indiantomatoesdonotdeserveit.Theirflavour,isjustsimple
bringinthe'gavti'tomatoestheyhavegrown.Thesewillbelessregularinshapeandsome
sourness,withbitterskin.
ofthemwillhavesplitwithripeness,oozingjuiceandseeds.Theyhaveasweetsouracid
taste,whichremindsyouthattomatoesarefruitsmorethantheyarevegetables.

Somepeoplegrowtomatoesthemselves,orhavegenerousfriendswithfarms,oraccesstofarmers'markets,liketheoneheldinMumbai
inOctoberMarch,whichallowthemtotastethejoyoftomatoesgrowntoripenessontheirvines.

Somepeoplemayonlyexperiencethisabroadwhereheirloomtomatoes,asthevarietiesspurnedbytheindustrialgrowersarecalled,are
prizedinmarketsandrestaurants.Theyaresweetandsourandfullofcomplex,fruity,fragrantnotes.Tastingareallygoodtomato,after
yearsofeatingtastelesstomatoes,isanalmostsenseshatteringexperience.

In"Tomatoland:HowModernIndustrialAgricultureDestroyedOurMostAlluringFruit",BarryEstabrooknotesthatmostfruitsand
vegetableshaveasinglechemicalcompoundthataccountsformostoftheirflavour:isoamylacetateforbananas,forexample,orfuraneol
forstrawberries.AndthenhequotesleadingtomatoscientistHarryKlee:

The"tomatoflavourisreallycomplicated."Itdependson1520compounds,ofwhichatleastsixarecriticaltowhatwerecogniseasthe
tasteoftomatoes.MarkSchatzker'sbook"TheDoritoEffect",abouttherolethatflavourplaysinfoods,alsofeaturesKleemakinganeven
moreimportantrevelation.AlongwithSteveGoff,aspecialistincellphysiology,heexaminesthechemicalsthatgivetomatoitsflavours
compoundslikephenylethanolandtrans2heptanolandfindsthatnearlyallofthemplayimportantrolesinourbodies.

"Theflavouroftomatoesisinextricablylinkedtonutrition,"writesSchatzker."Ofallthe400aromaticcompoundsintomatoes,thereare20
thatseduceusintoeatingthislusciousfruit,andeverysingleoneofthemismadefromthingsourbodiesneed."Thecorollary,ofcourse,
isthateatingtastelesstomatoesmeansnotgettingmostofthesenutrients.Itiseasytopintheblamefortastelesstomatoesonthe
agriculturaldistributionsystem.

Becauseripetomatoesareeasilybruisedandburst,farmersprefertopickthemwhentheyarehardandgreen,andshipthemtodistant
markets.Coldstorages,whichsomehavesuggestedasasolutiontothecurrentshortage,makethetasteproblemworsesince,as
Estabrooknotes,"forreasonsunknown,chillingreducesthefragrantvolatilechemicals."Thegreentomatoespartlyripenenroute,butare
alsohelpedbyblastsofethylene,thechemicalthatinducesripeninginnature.Naturalripening,whichispossiblewhenfarmsarecloseto
cities,allowsmorecomplexcompoundstodevelop.Itssubstitutionwithartificialripeningisamajorreasonfortastelesstomatoes.As
sourcingfortomatoesexpandsitsscope,thiswillonlyincrease.Already,tomatoesfromnorthIndiaarebeingshippedtomakeupforthe
cropshortfallinthesouth.

Yetproducersanddistributorsarenottheonlyonesresponsible.Consumersmustsharetheblameforreadilyacceptingsuchtasteless
tomatoes.Indiansaregenerallyappreciativeofgood,wellflavouredvegetables,probablybecausewedependonthemsomuch.Ourred
onionshavefarmoreflavourthanonionsusedintheWest,andweloveverydistinctivelyflavouredvegetableslikekarela.Sowhydowe
accepttastelesstomatoes?

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02/07/2016 Avoid home-grown tomatoes this summer for better ones post monsoon - The Economic Times

LATEACCEPTANCEPerhapsthisstemsfromourrelativelyrecentacceptanceoftomatoes,andthesomewhatrestrictedusewehave
madeofthem.TomatoesoriginatedinSouthAmerica,butweredevelopedforuseinCentralAmericaandMexico.Spanishconquerorsof
theNewWorldtookthembacktoEurope,andalsoacrossthePacifictothePhilippines,astheydidwithothercropslikechillies,potatoes
andbeanslikerajma.

WiththosecropsthoughtherewasextraimpetusfromthePortuguese,whotookthemfromtheirmainSouthAmericanbaseinBrazilto
theiroutpostsinAfricaandAsia(likeGoa).CashewwasanothercropspreadspecificallybythePortuguese,buttomatoeswerenot.Most
ofEurope,infact,wasrathersuspiciousoftomatoes,whichtheythoughtpoisonous.

Onlyinthe19thcenturydidthisprejudicefade,bywhichtimeitwasuptotheBritishtobringthemtoIndia.KTAchayasuggests1850as
itspossibledateofentry,andnoteshoweven30yearslaterSirGeorgeWatts,inhismonumentalsurveyoftheeconomicproductsof
India,notedtheywerestillbeinggrownmainlyforEuropeans,though"BengalisandBurmans"werestartingtouseitin"sourcurries."

Watts'commentsuggeststheveryparticularwaytheIndianstooktotomatoes.Wehadlittleinterestineatingitrawsincewerarely
consumedvegetablesthatway,butwereinterestedinitsvalueasasouringagent.Indiancurriestendtogetspokenaboutfortheirspices,
butsouringagentsprobablyplayanevenmoreimportantroleintheirfinaltaste,andweusearemarkablerangeofthem,suchas
tamarind,kokum,kodampalli,vinegar,amchur,anardana,limeandcurds.

Tomatoeswereausefuladdition.Theydon'tneedprepreparationliketamarindandcurdsdo,theydon'tdominateasmuchasvinegar,
andtheirvegetalmassaddsbodytothefinaldish.IndiancooksprobablyrecognisedinstinctivelywhatWesterncooksdidthattomatoes
hadtheabilitytocomplementandenhanceotheringredientswithoutoverpoweringthem.

ThisentryoftomatoescanbeseeninolderIndiancookbooks.In"SamaithuPaar"(1951),thebibleofTamilBrahmincooking,S
MeenakshiAmmalnotesthattomatoescanbeusedinsambhar,aslongastheamountoftamarindisreduced.

(Inthecurrenttomatoshortage,somehomecooksaregoingbacktousingtamarindinstead.)In"BanglaRanna"(1999),Minakshie
Dasguptaoffersasimplechickencurryrecipeusingtomatoes,whilemoreelaborate,traditionalrecipesdon'tusethem.Somecuisines
heldoutagainsttomatoes.

Inhiswonderfulfoodmemoir"LucknowkaDastarkhwan"(originallypublishedin1980andavailablenowinatranslationbySufiaKidwai
as"ClassicCuisineofLucknow"),MirzaJafarHusainwritesthat"inoldentimes,inthehousesoftherich,certainvegetableswere
definitelynotused,likesnakegourd,applegourd,tomatoes..."OrthodoxJainsalsoavoidedtomatoes,perhapsbecauseitsnumerous
seedsmadeittoo'living',thoughitisalsosaidthatitsredcolourseemedtoomuchlikeblood.

TraditionalfoodcookedandofferedinHindutemplesalmostneverincludestomatoes.Incontrast,restaurantsandstreetfoodeateries
embracedthetomato.Indianrestaurantstendtodependonprecookedflavour'bases'towhichdifferentingredientsandspicescanbe
admittedatthelastminutetomakemanydifferentdishes.Onionscookedwithgingergarlicareonebasicbaseandtomatoesareadded
asausefulsourelementtoit.StreetfoodsellersinMumbaidiscoveredthatattheendofthedayallremainingvegetablescouldbethriftily
cookedtogetherwithmoretomatoesandbuttertomakethecalorificsnackcalledpavbhaji.AtMotiMahal,theDelhirestaurantthat
KundanLalGujralopenedafterarrivingthereafterPartition,hemayhavebeenthefirsttomixtomatopureeandbutterintokaladalto
makedalmakhani.TomatopureeandbutteralsofeaturedinanotherrestaurantdishbutterchickenoritsBritishavatarchickentikka
masala.

Inalltheserecipes,itisthecookedandpureedtomatothatisused.Theslowcookingconcentratestheflavourandmakesupfortheloss
ofthecomplexcompounds(intaste,ifnotinnutritionterms).AndsincethiswasthemainusefortomatoesinIndia,wewereableto
overlookitsgeneraltastelessness.Allthatmatteredwascheapness,anditisonereasonwhytomatoes,likeonionsandpotatoesareoften
soldseparatefromothervegetables,justpiledhighandcheapinpushcarts.

YetthereareindicationsthatwhenIndiansgetthechancetotryandtastebettertomatoestheywilltakethem.Thegavtitomatosellers
mentionedabovealwaysseemedtoselloutsoon.GourmetfoodstoreslikeNature'sBasketstockimportedvineripenedtomatoes(though
thereisaninevitablelossoftasteinchilledtransport).

SomegrowerslikeSamarGuptaatTrikayaAgrohavealsobeengrowingheirloomtomatoesforsomeyearsnow,andtheyalwayssell
well.Theyhaveoddnamesandshapes:GreenZebras,CreamSausages,Brandywines,RomanCandles,DrWyche'sYellow.Buthighend
restaurantssnapthemup,andsodoconsumerswhohavetriedtheircomplexflavoursandgothookedontothem.Butthesearen'talways
available."Theproblemisreallyatthesupplyend,"saysGupta.

Everysummerforthelastfewyears,forafewmonthsthetomatosupplydriesup."Youwouldthinkwemighthavefiguredouthowtogrow
tomatoesthroughtheyear,butit'snotsosimple,"hesays.

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02/07/2016 Avoid home-grown tomatoes this summer for better ones post monsoon - The Economic Times

Fortheretailtrade,whichdemandstomatoesyearround,thisisunacceptableandthesetastyheirloomshavenotbeentakenupforthis
reason.Butperhapsweshouldacceptthatwedoourselvesnofavour,eitherintasteornutritionterms,bydemandingtomatoesallthe
time.Ratherthanspendontastelesstomatoesitisbettertostopeatingthemperhapsusingthatasachancetotrytraditionalpretomato
recipesandwaittillthetasty,healthyonesareback.

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