100 Heirloom Tomatoes For The American Garden
by Carolyn Male

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The definitive "field guide" to heirloom tomatoes. If you haven't heard of tomato aficionado Carolyn Male, then you haven't been "in" tomatoes very long! Dr. Carolyn Male, Professor of Microbiology is the preeminent expert on growing and breeding heirloom tomatoes. She even has a tomato named for her ("Dr. Carolyn"!) This book has mouth-watering photography, showcasing 100 different heirloom varieties and their foliage. Each contains a full description of each variety, PLUS her personal growing results with each as well as flavor descriptions. She does not mince words - if a tomato is bland or difficult to grow, she tells you so! She covers the origins of the tomato, answers the question "what is an heirloom tomato?", zones and which varieties to grow in them, varieties for selling to Chefs, complete growing info including her declaration that she does NOT prune tomatoes (neither do I!), a good and detailed section on pests and disease, how to save seed, and a not-to-be-found-elsewhere section on creating your OWN heirloom varieties as well as de-hybridizing a known commercial variety! This is a must-have handbook - you will refer to it over and over for many years. It will help you decide what varieties to grow for years to come as well. You will not be disappointed!

The Great Tomato Book (same name as the Gary Ibsen book below, but it is a different book by another author)
by Sheila Buff

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This is a great all-in-one tomato book. It covers the tomato industry (including the famous "Flavr-Savr" genetically engineered tomato), tomato seeds in space(!), silly things such as Attack of the Killer Tomatoes(!!), tomato "fights" of Bunol, Spain, health benefits, heirlooms (pros and cons), hybrids, sowing, growing, nutrients needed for specific portions of the tomato plant and signs of deficiencies, diseases and insects with a few photos, how to get the earliest tomatoes, how to get BIG tomatoes and what varieties to try, novelty tomatoes, and tomato recipes. It also has resources for seeds. Lots of good, solid info on every aspect of tomatoes, and a must have. It covers some things not mentioned in either the Male or Ibsen books, therefore it is a worthwhile addition.

The Great Tomato Book
by Gary Ibsen

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I gotta say, this is another favorite "all in one" tomato book - it has a broad focus that covers EVERYTHING - and there is just something about the photography and the writing that makes you keep picking it up over and over. I really love this book. Don't let it's tall thin profile fool you into thinking it's a small book! It is written by the founder of the Carmel Valley, CA "Tomato Fest" where people all get together for a giant spread of "tomato tasting", live music and fun! Photo at right shows the long tables with all the wonderful varieties available for taste-testing - absolutely scrumptious!! This book covers the author's experience growing tomatoes organically, both hybrids and heirloom varieties. He answers the question "why don't tomatoes taste like they used to", tells you the differences between a commercial heirloom, a family heirloom, a created heirloom and a mystery heirloom! He gives an easy to understand history of the tomato and how it came to the U.S., a complete nutritional profile of the fruit, every detail you need to successfully grow tomatoes, pests and diseases, trellising, the fine art of watering, feeding organically, saving seed, a glossary of great tomatoes (photos and descriptions of his favorites, ordered by color), harvesting, drying, canning and freezing, and to top it all off, the final chapter contains yummy recipes for everything from Swiss Tomato Fondue to Vine-Ripe Golden Tomato Marmalade, Tomato Seafood Shooters and Green Tomato and Apple Pie! Best of all, this book is inexpensive. Another "gotta have" book!

Hydroponic Tomatoes For The Home Gardener
by Howard Resh

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The first hydroponic tomato (grown indoors without soil) I tasted was at Disney's Epcot Center where you could ride though the hydroponic test gardens on a boat. The vegetables produced here were used to serve people in the Epcot restaurants. I never forgot the taste of that tomato, it equaled and may have even surpassed the best vine-ripened summer tomatoes grown outdoors.

I bought this book when I had that desperate "lack of tomatoes winter blues". I thought there had to be a way to grow them on my own indoors - and this book tells you how! Now that home hydroponic systems are easily available, anyone can grow tomatoes indoors. It covers the growing medium, nutrient solutions, supporting of the plants, light, temperature, diseases, pollination, and most importantly a listing of hydroponic growing supply companies. If you are ambitious about growing tomatoes indoors in the winter (or any time of the year), this book tells you all you need to know. It's the only one of it's kind covering this fascinating subject.

How To Grow World Record Tomatoes: A Guinness Champion Reveals His All-Organic Secrets
by Charles H. Wilber

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Now, is this cool, or what?? How do you get 28 foot tall tomato plants? How do you get 342 pounds of tomatoes from one plant? (Hint: One thing Charles does is to use a common noxious weed which he composts and tills back into the soil adding super duper life giving properties to the soil!!) Mr. Wilbur tells you how he has made it into the Guinness book of World Records with his all-organic methods and techniques. He tells you what varieties to grow as well. An 18 lb. cucumber! 15 ft. sweet corn! It's all here in this way cool book, lots of concrete info on how to get LOTS of whatever you are growing - amazing!

Tomato: The Indispensable Cook's Guide To Tomatoes
by Christine France

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A new book this year - yay!! The huge, hardcover "coffee table" tomato book! Wow, this is a lavishly photographed (mostly) cookbook 100% on tomatoes. It does also cover history, nutrition, growing, pests/diseases, it describes by color the differences in taste among different colors which I found interesting along with names of different colored varieties, it discusses and shows all the kitchen utensils used when preparing tomatoes, it covers peeling, flame-skinning, seeding, concassing PLUS a cool illustrated section on how to make decorative roses, suns and fans out of tomato skins and flesh - very unique and beautiful! Also, a section on tomatoes in the pantry: drying and preserving in oil, bottled cherry tomatoes, freezing, ketchup, canning, Passata, Sugocasa, Red Pesto, Creamed tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes, tomato puree. It discusses specific herbs that go well with tomatoes and how to use them (yum!), it has a great section with awesome photos of many different varieties with discussions of how to use each variety. The rest of this HUGE book is all recipes - all courses and types of meals are covered, including a vegetarian main course section, also drinks, salsas and breads are covered. These recipes are awesome, from simple to complex, you will definitely find all of them to be creative and beautiful ways to use tomatoes. If you are serious about cooking with your home-grown harvest, this book will really inspire you to "get back into cooking"! A very classy addition to your kitchen library.

You Say Tomato
by Ruth Bass

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A nice cookbook with great recipes for everything under the sun! If you need a recipe, it's here, from simple marinara sauces and sun dried tomatoes, oven dried tomatoes in herb oils to Portuguese Tomato Pilaf and Grilled and Smoked Lobster with Curried Tomato Butter! It also covers growing and different variety descriptions, tools and preparation techniques. Also has sidebar boxes with fun facts and trivia. This book is nice and fat!

The Tomato Cookbook
by Roy Guste

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A good sized all tomato cookbook. It features recipes such as Flaming Tomato Punch, West African Fish, Tomato and Pepper Soup; Chinese Stir-Fried Tomatoes in Egg Sauce, Tomatoes Portuguese, Caribbean Black Beans and Tomatoes, Roma Tomato Rings Stuffed with Cream Cheese, and Tomato Sorbet! The recipes range from the simple to the "way out"!

Sun Dried Tomatoes
by Andrea Chesman

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Sun dried tomatoes are all the rage in cooking, and for good reason - they are sweet and strongly flavored, making them the perfect ingredient for so many dishes! This book tells how to dry your own and has over 70 recipes which use the dried tomatoes in them. How about Sun Dried Tomato and Provolone Bread? Sun Dried Tomato Finger Sandwiches? Tomato and Fontina Quiche? They are all in here. A nice little "niche" book on an ingredient that is rarely found in cookbooks.

The Totally Tomato Cookbook
by Helene Siegel

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This is a small tomato-shaped book with lots of useful tomato recipes - a cute book that would make a nice, inexpensive gift for that fellow gardening friend who may or may not be "into" tomatoes! You will find it to be a nice addition to your tomato cookbook collection as well.

Tomatoes Love Herbs: A Fresh From The Garden Cookbook
by Ruth Bass

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This is a sweet little cookbook, focusing solely on the simplicity of using herbs with tomatoes - nice! Herbed Tomatoes With Avocado, Tomato Basil Bake, Spicy Green Tomato Bread, and Stuffed Tomatoes Oregano are among the very usable recipes in this book. Inexpensive and simple recipes to make, great if you are just starting out cooking with tomatoes.

Unlock The Power Of Lycopene
by David Yeung

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The REAL reason we eat tomatoes - they're good for us!! The healthy substance which gives tomatoes their red color is called Lycopene. Unlock the Power of Lycopene" explores how lycopene, powerful antioxidant abundant in red tomatoes, may help prevent prostate cancer, some other forms of cancer, heart disease and other ailments. In addition to exploring the latest research, "Unlock the Power of Lycopene" includes a wealth of interesting information about tomatoes, plus recipes, all in a reader-friendly format.

The Tomato In America: Early History, Culture and Cuisine
by Andrew F. Smith

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For the tomato connoisseur who has it all; this book is an in-depth look at the serious end of the tomato - nothing fluffy or dainty here - just factual history of how the tomato "began" and how it came to America. What is covered: early culture and cultivation, tomato acidity and how it was viewed early on, unusual specimens, early tomato cookery (1700's and 1800's), Spanish, Italian, German and French influences on cooking with tomatoes, early restaurants who pioneered the serving of tomato dishes, early ways of preparing tomato dishes (1500's-1800's), preserving and canning tomatoes, tomatoes in medicine and miraculous cures, the tomato pill war(!!), tomato "mania" in the 1800's, and the best part - historical tomato recipes! There are tons of references for everything in this book, as it's a very thorough scholarly work. If you want to be the ultimate expert, OR if you just want to skim the history and get right to those authentic historical recipes, you will definitely enjoy this book.

Souper Tomatoes
by Andrew F. Smith

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The third book by Andrew Smith on the history of tomatoes - this book is completely about tomato soup! Do you know that... Rutgers tomato seeds once produced 70 percent of the processed tomatoes in the United States? ...Andy Warhol's mother served him tomato soup for lunch for twenty years - which was why he painted tomato soup cans? ...Tomatoes were grown and eaten in what is today the United States nearly two centuries before they became popular throughout Italy? ...Some people once thought the tomato caused cancer, but today many scientists believe that eating tomatoes prevents certain types of cancer?

On cold winter afternoon, countless American children have been warmed by hot lunches of comforting tomato soup. In Souper Tomatoes, culinary historian Andrew F. Smith tells the definitive story behind this familiar food. This saga, he writes, "is a juicy tale filled with unexpected twists and turns. It is action packed, peopled with seedsmen and farmers, grocers and scientists, commercial artists and hard hitting advertisers, and just plain old everyday consumers - all of whom have contributed to the transformation of tomato soup into one of America's favorite dishes. Andrew restaurant-hopped to see who made the best tomato soup and what their secret ingredients were. Fascinating reading on a subject I never thought much about - now I feel like going out and buying a can of tomato soup and making tomato eggdrop soup with it - haven't had that since I was a teenager ...MMMMMMMMMM GOOD!

Pure Ketchup : A History of America's National Condiment With Recipes
by Andrew F. Smith

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This is the second book by Andrew Smith, tomato historian. (Amazon review) Smith's writing clips along briskly from one astonishing fact to the next. Did you know that ketchup was so much the rage by the early 19th century that Lord Byron, Jane Austin and Charles Dickens all mention it in their work? Or that in 1915 over 800 brands of ketchup were sold in the state of Connecticut alone? Smith elucidates the cloudy origins of both the word ("ketchup" "catchup" "catsup") and the condiment. He documents the evolution of its commercial production in America. Enormous demand for ketchup and other tomato products, he explains, fueled the movement to rid it of adulterants and preservatives and was key to passage of the Pure Food and Drugs Bill in 1906. The 50 recipes Smith includes are all historical - cool!

First Fruit: The Creation of the Flavr Savr Tomato and the Birth of Biotech Foods
by Belinda Martineau

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What's a Flavr Savr tomato? It was a genetically engineered tomato that was supposed to surpass currently available supermarket-type tomatoes in flavor and shelf life. So what's wrong with that? Why not let scientists do this to help ALL fruits and vegetables reach this level of perfection? Well, it means that NO ONE but the patent owners could produce tomatoes if they became widespread. Eventually, they might have the ability to keep seed manufacturers from selling seeds we could plant, which would be disastrous! If a blight specific to Flavr Savr tomatoes came along, ALL TOMATOES everywhere would be wiped out! "We must have genetic diversity" say the rest of us. As you can see, the whole thing was quite controversial. Anyway, this book discusses the implications of genetic engineering of foods.