heirloom tomatoes. They come in all shapes and sizes, from deeply grooved to smooth as a ping pong ball, and in colors ranging from pale yellow and light green to deep, almost black reds and all ...

Heirloom tomatoes are special for several reasons ... A few favourite varieties at the local farmers’ market are the azoychka, black cherry, black krim and Brandywine. Why are they so expensive?

Chef John Besh remembers the tomatoes of his childhood, the Creole variety that grew in the rich silt deposits of the Mississippi Delta. Those tomatoes—“ugly and deformed, split to the point ...