Home / April

A little reason to celebrate

Fresh Tomato Day

Food · April 6

A food day for fresh tomatoes: ripe, raw, still warm from the sun, and how people eat them sliced, salted and straight from the vine.

Fresh Tomato Day falls on Tuesday, April 6, 2027. That is 161 days away.

A fresh tomato is a different food from the one in a can or a jar. It is juicy, a little sweet, a little sharp, and best eaten raw, not long after it leaves the plant.

Tomatoes are technically fruits. They grow on vines and come in many colors, including red, yellow, orange, purple and green when ripe. Sizes run from cherry tomatoes you eat in one bite to heavy beefsteaks that take up a whole sandwich. Heirloom varieties often look lumpy or streaked, and people grow them for flavor rather than looks.

The simplest way to eat one is also the most common: slice it, add salt, and stop there. Some people add pepper, olive oil or a few torn basil leaves. Others build a tomato sandwich with soft bread and mayonnaise, which is a summer ritual in many American kitchens. A bowl of halved cherry tomatoes on the counter tends to disappear without anyone admitting to it.

Storage matters more than people expect. Ripe tomatoes keep their flavor better on the counter than in the refrigerator, where cold can make them mealy. Smelling the stem end is a decent way to judge one at a market stand.

If you grow your own, the first ripe one of the season is usually eaten standing in the garden, with juice running down a wrist.

Ways to celebrate

• Try a ripe tomato sliced with nothing but a pinch of salt.
• Make a tomato sandwich on soft bread.
• Look for an heirloom variety you have never tasted.
• Share extra garden tomatoes with a neighbor.
• Taste two different tomato colors side by side.

Dates

All national days on April 6

Also on April 6

• National Caramel Popcorn Day
• National Siamese Cat Day
• National Carbonara Day
• New Beer's Eve
• National Twinkie Day
• National Student-Athlete Day

Categories: Food days