PITTSBURGH — Sweet corn, which is plentiful at farmers markets and roadside stands in August, is often touted as summer’s best vegetable. We love it because it’s so familiar — we start eating corn on the cob with plenty of butter and salt as kids, then fall in love with it all over again as adults when we discover dishes like Mexican elote salad and corn souffle.
But I’d argue the humble homegrown tomato is the true star of summer.
Plump, juicy and practically dripping with sweet, slightly acidic flavor, locally grown tomatoes are the bomb. Grown for taste and color instead of transport and picked at the peak of ripeness, they’re nothing like the hard and practically flavorless fruit from Florida you find in grocery stores the rest of the year.
Lucky for us, tomatoes are one of Pennsylvania’s largest crops, which means they’re super-easy to find. The state’s growers plant more than 2,000 acres of fresh market tomatoes each year, good for 13th in the nation, according to Lancaster Farming.
A fruit by definition — but commonly referred to as a vegetable — tomatoes are also a favorite of both urban and suburban gardeners since they’re relatively easy to grow if the weather cooperates with lots of sun and not too much rain. They yield a lot of fruit in a relatively small space and if you grow from seed, there are thousands of varieties to choose from.