Fresh At The Farmers' Market: Tangy Tomatoes

This week's featured product at the farmers' market comes from the Solanum lycopersicum plant, which produces the red fruit commonly known as a tomato.

Unlike the notoriously tasteless tomatoes at the grocery store, which are usually grown out of season in Florida, the tomatoes at the farmers' market are full of flavor and produced during their natural crop cycle from July to November.

You'll find red and round tomatoes at the Concord and Clayton farmers' markets, of course, but local farmers also offer heirloom tomatoes in a variety of colors and shapes: yellow, orange, pink, purple, green, and even striped. These tomatoes have the fullest flavor, according to the Pacific Coast Farmers' Market Association (PCFMA), since they are cultivated specifically for taste and uniqueness rather than consistency of size and shape, disease and pest resistance, and suitability for mechanized picking and shipping. The flavors range from acidic to sweet and everything in between. 

Tomatoes contain the powerful antioxidant lycopene, according to PCFMA, which is beneficial for the heart and helps prevent prostate cancer. 

Find tomato recipes like Farmers Tomato Pie on the PCFMA website.

Concord and Clayton Farmers' Market Schedules

Location: Todos Santos Plaza
Tuesday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. year-round.
Thursday, 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., April 25 to Oct. 24, 2013
Information: PCFMA.com

Location: Diablo Street, between Main and Center in Downtown Clayton
Saturday, 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. May 11 to Oct. 26, 2013
Information: PCFMA.com

Location: Concord High School parking lot
Sunday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. year-round.
Information: CCFM.org

Share your favorite tomato recipe in the comments below.