I just read a story on one of AOL’s blogs about how the cold temperatures in January have caused problems for chain restaurants sourcing tomatoes.  It specifically cited Burger King and Subway. 

As stated in the story: “The chain has been running short on tomatoes for about week, leaving some disappointed customers without red ripe tomatoes on their Whoppers.”   I couldn’t tell you the last time that I ate at Burger King but I’m pretty certain that they’ve probably never had “red ripe tomatoes” on their Whoppers…or any other fast food chain for that matter!

This brings up one of my “beefs” with chain operations and those that have standardized menus…seasonality.   A Caprese salad should only be on a restaurant menu if the tomatoes are going to be ripe and flavorful.  A restaurant that features Caprese salad in December and January is doing so to appease the mass base of customers ($$$) rather than showcasing great food with great preparations.   Even the tomatoes generally do grow and ripen in Florida during the standard ‘winter’ months, they are still generally picked green and never allowed to ripen.  Seasonality alone doesn’t make a difference unless the fruit or vegetable has been allowed to develop to maturity.

The photo (taken by Joe Raedle, Getty Images) that accompanied this story accurately portrays the standard tomato picking process whereby they are picked green so they can be hauled in trucks, packed into cases and shipped off to distribution centers and stores.  Which is why you will find “red” tomatoes but not “ripe” tomatoes in your grocery stores (with the exception of “vine-ripened” tomatoes).  For more information on what determines “ripeness” in a fruit, see my previous post:  “Fruit: Is it “Ripe”?