Georgia
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Fr
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JULY 2014
North Georgia’s Agricultural Newspaper
Summertime tomatoes ready to be enjoyed By Barbara Olejnik Georgia Ag News Staff bolejnik@poultrytimes.net
Stock.Xchng
Time for tasty tomatoes: Summer is the perfect season for enjoying some fresh produce, especially tomatoes.
GAINESVILLE — To-May-To — or — To-Mah-To. However your pronounce it, those delicious, round, red vegetables — especially the home-grown, ripe-on-the-vine ones — are a wonderful part of summer. While the tomato can be eaten in numerous ways, a staple of summer-time enjoyment is the ‘mater sandwich. Picked from the vine, warmed by the sun, sliced thick or thin, on white bread with mayonnaise, those sandwiches are wonderful.
Of course, there will be varied discussions about what brand of mayonnaise is the right one to use. While tomatoes are a part of today’s culinary plates, those same tomatoes earlier got a bad rap. This widely-used food source was once considered to be poisonous by many Europeans. However, an opposite view was later offered by the French, who referred to the tomato as pommes d’amour, or love apples, as they were thought to have stimulating aphrodisiacal properties. But is the tomato a fruit or a vegetable? Botanist claim that a fruit is any fleshy material that covers a seed or seeds where as a horticultur-
ist’s point of view would pose that the tomato is a vegetable plant. Until the late 1800s the tomato was classified as a fruit to avoid taxation, but this was changed after a Supreme Court ruling that the tomato is a vegetable and should be taxed accordingly. And as a vegetable the tomato is found in an untold number of recipes — untold because the tomato is a go-to ingredient that may be added on a whim by a professional chef or an average homemaker as a special taste to a recipe. It can be added whole, sliced, roasted, pureed, grilled, or any
See Tomatoes, Page 12
Corn is a great addition for summer grilling variety By David B. Strickland Georgia Ag News Staff
dstrickland@poultrytimes.net
GAINESVILLE — There are many ways to enjoy corn, and especially corn-on-the-cob. But if you are looking for a new way to prepare fresh corn, grilling is a method that is tried and true. It’s an easy to prepare, as well as delicious treat. The Georgia Department of Agriculture notes that, “sweet corn is a warm-weather crop, well suited for Georgia’s climate. Corn is grown in every county in Georgia, making it the most widely grown crop in the state. Georgia corn is available all summer long, from May to midSeptember.”
In addition to agreeing that grilling is a great way to prepare summer corn-on-the-cob, the department also provides some tips on selecting corn. The GDA suggests looking for corn ears that have snug and bright green husks. The kernels should be plump, fresh and firm with just slight resistance to touch. Also, if storing in the refrigerator, corn will keep for several days if they are wrapped in plastic or placed in airtight containers.
Grilling Cooking corn on a barbecue grill can be done many ways, but the two most popular methods are either with the corn ears wrapped in
aluminum foil or placed directly on the grill with the husk still attached. As several sources note, grilled corn in the husk may provide a nice visual presentation, but will take longer in preparation. yy In the husk In getting the ears ready, some of the layers of husk can be removed, but don’t remove them all. Some sources differ on soaking the ears in water first. If done, soak the corn ears in cold water for 15 minutes or more. This added moisture will provide steam to assist in cooking the corn. Remove the silk and peel back some of the husk. With the barbecue grill on me-
See Corn, Page 12
Photo by David B. Strickland
Corn on the barbie: For a wonderfully tasty grilling treat, add some corn-on-the-cob to your next barbecue meal.