Summer Tomato Crostini

The origin of tomatoes dates back hundreds of years to Central America where they were well known to the Aztecs who cultivated them from a small berry into something more palatable.

History reveals that European explorers and conquistadors returned to Europe with tomato seeds in the holds of their ships. The popularity of the tomato was not immediate. It wasn’t until the nineteenth century, when tomatoes went from being a largely ornamental and medicinal plant to becoming a foundational food for much of world cuisine. Research shared by the University of California Cooperative Extension suggests 80% of all tomato varieties were extinct by 1910. Farmers started keeping many of these seeds to preserve them.

But what exactly are heirloom tomatoes and what makes them so special? The seeds are what make an heirloom tomato, well, an heirloom tomato. They have been open-pollinated and passed down from season to season for over 50 years, preserved by farmers and gardeners from the tomato plants that produced the best fruit. What’s special about pen-pollinated seeds is that they will reproduce true plants year after year (with the right growing conditions). Planted the next season, these cherished seeds produce bright, colorful, juicy, flavorful, and memory-making fruit with storied histories.