New York Times article, "The Return of the Lost Tomato," is a must-read

The New York Times on Wednesday has a separate section, Dining Out, that is a must-read for any follower of food. Today's issue touched on a subject dear to my heart, New Jersey tomatoes. I grew up in the summers on the Jersey shore in Ocean City, NJ and came to love the tomatoes grown in that area.

Today's article (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/23/dining/23toma.html?_r=1&ref=dining&oref=slogin) by Julia Moskin is a feast to a tomato lover's eyes and I highly recommend you read it. The article deals with a hybrid developed at Rutgers, the Ramapo, that had nearly disappeared but is being returned to use there.

The article reinforces what I have been writing about in this blog about the benefits of growing produce locally. The writer points out that tomatoes in recent decades have been bred for shipping with "thick skins and tough walls." Mr. Gary Ibsen of California when interviewed by the writer stated that "...now that shipping is so expensive, I think everything is going to change again. You're going to see a lot more local tomatoes everywhere."

The article points out that it costs $10,000 to ship tomatoes across country. Can you imagine what it costs to ship citrus from California to Florida? Are you listening Publix?

For the record, New Jersey needs to know there is competition out there. Anyone who has tasted an Alabama Sand Mountain tomato has had their own occasion to taste divinity in the same league with Jersey tomatoes.

I recommend you read the New York Times every Wednesday. The Dining Out section is a treasure.