Roma Tomatoes

Scientific Binomial Name: Solanum lycopersicum

Selection Information

Usage:

Use like regular tomatoes or for cooking in Italian dishes.

Selection:

Good-quality roma tomatoes will be firm, smooth-skinned and be at least pink in color. Tomatoes that are partially green will ripen if left at room temperature.

Storage:

Unripe tomatoes should be stored out of direct sunlight at room temperature until ripe for 3 or 4 days. Once ripe, tomatoes should be used within a day or two. Only refrigerate fully ripened tomatoes, but be aware that it will affect the flavor!

Avoid:

Avoid product that is too soft, wrinkled or that has broken skin. Tomatoes with a green blush will ripen, but avoid product with blotchy green or brown areas.

Seasonal Information

Roma tomatoes are available year-round primarily from California, Mexico and Florida.

California Romas are available from June through November.

Washington tomatoes are available during August and September.

Roma Tomato Nutritional Information

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1 medium Roma tomato

Amount Per Serving

Calories 35 Calories from Fat 9

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 1 1%

Saturated Fat 0g 0%

Trans Fat

Cholesterol 0mg 0%

Sodium 5mg 0%

Total Carbohydrate 7g 2%

Dietary Fiber 1g 4%

Sugars 6g

Protein 1g 2%

Vitamin A 20% Vitamin C 40%

Calcium 1% Iron 2%

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Source: PMA's Labeling Facts

Roma Tomatoes are Low-calorie, Low-fat, Very low in sodium, High in vitamin A, High in vitamin C, Cholesterol-free

Tomato Tips & Trivia

Do not refrigerate tomatoes! They will retain their flavor and ripen correctly at room temperature. Once they are ripe, use within 3 days.
This vegetable is actually a berry, and is though to have come first from the Andes mountains, and the present name is close to the Indian name. It belongs to the nightshade family, along with potatoes, eggplants, peppers and tobacco.
In Europe, where it was taken by the Spanish, the tomato was grown only as a ornamental for many years. Eating tomatoes was considered certain to prove fatal. Even in North America, it has been only in the past 150 years that people mustered enough courage to try eating them. That all changed starting on the courthouse steps in Salem, New Jersey, at twelve o'clock noon on September 26, 1820, when Colonel Robert G. Johnson ate not one, but a basketful of tomatoes. He not only lived, he wasn't a bit ill following his demonstration.
In 1893, the Supreme Court ruled that the tomato must be considered a vegetable, even though, botanically, it is a fruit. Because vegetables and fruits were subject to different import duties, it was necessary to define it as one or the other. So, tomatoes were declared to be a vegetable given that it was commonly eaten as one. (Source: The Packer, 6/9/90)
Tomatoes were popularized in this country when the Creoles in New Orleans included them in their popular gumbos and jambalayas. (Source: The California Tomato Board