Tomato Time

Farmers and backyard gardeners alike have told us that the 2015 tomato crop was late this year, at least on the narrow, farthest end of the South Fork. This, they say, appeared attributable to weather, specifically that the ocean stayed cold later than usual this year, which, in turn, kept a chill over the land. And so now, as winter’s last touches have all but been erased, the tomatoes have come into fullness, bright dots of orange and red winking from the vines.

One of the things that makes the present day here worth all the hassles, in our view, is the incredible proliferation of all things food. Yes, this area has a notable history in this regard, shown, perhaps, in the gloriously earnest Ladies Village Improvement Society cookbooks, forged from fresh ingredients at the urging of the great Craig Claiborne and his generation of pioneering chefs and food writers. Now there is a whole new generation of growers, cooks, and enthusiasts, whose passions can be seen in the myriad tomato varieties laid out at the many farm stands and markets, and passed among friends.

It’s a great time to be a tomato, and it’s an even greater time to love to eat them.