An open secret for my fellow growers

Fred Hempel · July 14, 2013

A few years ago we discovered a tomato that has excellent taste when it is green and not ripe.

The tomato is Speckled Roman, and we sell green Speckled Roman and similar varieties we have bred from Speckled Roman, as Cetriolo tomatoes (Cetriolo = cucumber in Italian).

Restaurants buy cases for use in unique fresh salads. Two examples are

1. Slices of fresh Cetriolo tomatoes topped with Frisee and avocado with a spash of lemon juice and a dash of salt.

2. Slices of Cetriolo tomatoes alternating with real cucumbers, and dressed as you would a cucumber salad.

Since these green tomatoes are durable, and are available before our ripe tomatoes, we now sell most of our Speckled Roman as green "Cetriolo" tomatoes. The price per pound is 50 cents less than our best heirloom/gourmet tomatoes.

If you have Speckled Roman growing -- you may want to try a few un-ripe ones fresh. Slice them thin, and add citrus and salt to brighten the flavor.

July 14, 2013	#1
Fred Hempel Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Sunol, CA Posts: 2,723	An open secret for my fellow growers A few years ago we discovered a tomato that has excellent taste when it is green and not ripe. The tomato is Speckled Roman, and we sell green Speckled Roman and similar varieties we have bred from Speckled Roman, as Cetriolo tomatoes (Cetriolo = cucumber in Italian). Restaurants buy cases for use in unique fresh salads. Two examples are 1. Slices of fresh Cetriolo tomatoes topped with Frisee and avocado with a spash of lemon juice and a dash of salt. 2. Slices of Cetriolo tomatoes alternating with real cucumbers, and dressed as you would a cucumber salad. Since these green tomatoes are durable, and are available before our ripe tomatoes, we now sell most of our Speckled Roman as green "Cetriolo" tomatoes. The price per pound is 50 cents less than our best heirloom/gourmet tomatoes. If you have Speckled Roman growing -- you may want to try a few un-ripe ones fresh. Slice them thin, and add citrus and salt to brighten the flavor.