This past Sunday we hopped on our bikes like good little environment conscious Vancouverites and peddled down to the first Gastown Farmers Market. Little did I know I would get a lesson in a food I thought I knew well enough.

The subject: heirloom tomatoes

The teacher: Michael Allen from Garden Back to Eden

Seriously I had no idea there are so many different varieties of heirlooms, nor that each has their own name. And not just ordinary names. Names like The Black Price. Green Zebra. Striped German. And my favourite: Heart of Compassion. C’mon, these are poetic! Who names a vegetable, a food of any kind, Heart of Compassion? These kinds of names seem to suit incredibly valuable things with a rich history that needs to be protected. Or things that have a long lineage, traceable to all corners of the globe! Not…tomatoes??!!

But just you hold your horses for one moment my student, heirloom tomatoes are in fact from royalty (the seeds from The Black Prince were brought to England from Russia by an heir to the throne, so I was told); they do have lineage traceable back as early as the 1800’s from Belgium, Germany, Russia, the list goes on; and the history behind where the seeds originally come from is often long stories about people leaving (or being forced to leave) their country with just the clothes on their backs, their families, and their tomato seeds. Amazing.

Gorgeous! Heart of Compassion (foreground) and Green Zebra (background).

Vintage Heirloom

What did they taste like, you ask? The Black Prince was a gorgeous purple-brown-deep red colour that was only more beautiful when sliced open, and was ridiculously sweet. Lots of seeds, thin skin. Heart of Compassion was, suitable to it’s name, in the shape of a heart and quite possibly the meatiest tomato I’ve ever had; it was solid tomato the whole way through, very few seeds and was as pink as a watermelon inside. I squished out some seeds from both these varieties and they’re drying on my counter top right now; I can’t wait to plant them next Spring (they’re an indeterminate and my garden definitely has vertical space!).

Your homework: Next Sunday go to the Gastown Farmers Market, find Michael at Garden Back to Eden and pretend like you know nothing about heirloom tomatoes. Ask for the what’s what of heirlooms and you’ll see with your own eyes the passion this man has for this gorgeous and tasty food. * Notetaking optional (I used the paper bag I took my 6 tomatoes home in).

Tags: Garden Back to Eden, gastown farmers market, heirloom tomatoes, vancouver farmers market

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