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).

Straight from the incredible ambitious and dedicated people at the Vancouver Farmers Markets: the Gastown Farmers Market opens this weekend! Please spread the word and support your local producers.

Looks like the Market is also being supported/promoted by The City of Vancouver’s Summer Spaces program, an initiative whereby “select commercial streets are opening up on Sundays this Summer for local residents to experience as temporary public spaces”. For more info on that go here to find your neighborhood’s Summer Spaces events and here for Gastown.

The opening market is this Sunday August 2nd from 11am to 3pm and will continue until September 27th. The full list of vendors to date includes:

A Bread Affair - organic artisan bread
Anna’s Blumen Design - locally grown dahlias, sunflowers and more
Bad Girl Chocolates - artisan chocolates, truffles, candy and dessert sauces
Cropthorne Farm - Squash, Lettuce, Salad Mix, Potatoes, Cabbage, Broccoli, Peas, Beans, Corn, Carrots, Asian greens, Leek, Parsnip, Cucumbers, Aubergine, Kale, Chard, Beets and more
Dundarave Olive Co - olives, flavoured olive oil, tapenade
Garden Back to Eden - organic heirloom tomatoes, brocolli, eggplant, berries and more
Golden West Farm - organic cherries, peaches, apple chips
Great Day Bokashi - indoor composting systems
Healthy Bagel Factory - bagels
Jobst-Hof Farm - cherries, peaches
Klippers Organic Acres - organic tomatoes, peaches, apricots, walnuts, plums, lettuce, squash, eggs, peppers, herbs, dried fruit, jam
Maan Farm - corn, peppers, berries
Matsqui Blue Farms - organic blueberries, hazelnuts, pears
Richmond Urban Farmers - garlic and ground crops
Royal Herbs - body care, soap, aromatherapy, tinctures, natural home cleaning solutions
Say See Bon Patisserie - Parisian macaroons
Sweet T’s Pies - pies - fruit and nut, cookies
Thai Princess Enterprises - Thai stir-fry sauces
The Cambie Bakery & Café - sweet and savoury baked goods
Wenger Sheep Farm - lamb and sheep products

You can also go here for more info. See you there!