The Benefits of Cherry, Sungold, and Grape Tomatoes

Nutritious, delicious, convenient, portable, and versatile.

I’m a big fan of these little beauties. I grow them in my garden during the summer and can’t get enough of them. They’re normally available throughout the year in stores, too. Sure the regular big guy tomatoes are better for slicing for a sandwich. But, for the most part, throughout the year I choose the little guys. They are now available in a variety of colors, and are normally round or grape shaped. Here’s why I think cherry, Sungold, and grape tomatoes rule.


Small but mighty | How cherry tomatoes are better than regular tomatoes.

  • Their sweet flavor and firm texture is consistent, even when out-of-season. When regular out-of-season tomatoes become flavorless and pale, cherry tomatoes still have vibrant color and taste. Sure, they’re better vine-ripened from the garden, but cherry tomatoes still taste good in the winter. Not so with regular tomatoes.
  • They are ready for snacking because they’re naturally bite sized. Grab a handful any ol’ time and you’ve got a tasty, nutritious snack. No cutting or fussing; they’re ready to eat.
  • They’re portable. You can take these along with you to work or in the car. They’re great for school lunches. Cut regular tomatoes are too messy to take along.
  • They can be refrigerated or stored at room temperature. If you refrigerate big tomatoes, their flavor declines and their textures becomes mealy. Ick. Not so with cherry tomatoes. I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s because the cherries have a proportionally larger area covered in skin. (That’s a total guess, by the way.) For whatever reason, they hold up better in the fridge compared to their big counterparts. Their flavor will gradually lose flavor if they’re refrigerated too long, but I’ve never had them around long enough to notice a problem. That means you can extend the shelf life of cherry tomatoes by refrigerating them, and you can make fresh cherry tomato salads and salsas, and they will hold up in the fridge for a few days. Regular tomatoes quickly turn to mush in the fridge, particularly after they are cut.
  • For home gardeners, they’re easy to grow. Way easier than the big guys. I get consistently better results from my cherry tomato vines. 

 

What about grape tomatoes? Everything I said about cherry tomatoes applies to grape tomatoes. They’re just a slightly different shape.

What about Sungold tomatoes? These are the gold/orange colored cherry-sized tomatoes. Everything I said about cherry tomatoes applies to these. Sungolds are even sweeter, less acidic, and their texture is a bit firmer. They are my personal favorite and are very easy to grow. They can be picked when they are yellow and will ripen fully to an orange color on the counter. So yummy. Sungolds are easy to grow; and, for some reason, the squirrels leave them alone. Don’t know why, but maybe the squirrels are tricked into thinking they’re not ripe yet because they haven’t turned red. (Another totally off-the-cuff guess.)



Posted on Tuesday, August 12th, 2014
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