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f a l l 2 0 1 6 | 4 5 to create what the Aztecs called the xitomatl. The Conquistadores chopped off the prefix and suffix and called the fruit tomate, which came into English as tomato. Because tomatoes—along with potatoes, peppers, eggplant and to- bacco—are members of the solana- ceae family that includes the deadly nightshades, Europeans originally thought they were poisonous. But when they found they were deli- cious, they decided they must be aphrodisiacs. The French cooed pomme d'amour—that is, "love apple"—and the Italians followed by calling the tomato pomodoro. Then came marinara and pizza, and the rest is history. Modern research has discovered that tomatoes are chockablock with health benefits. They contain the antioxidant lycopene, recently linked not only to the cancer- fighting properties of antioxidants and to cardiovascular health but to bone health. In one study, toma- toes and other dietary sources of lycopene were removed from the diets of postmenopausal women for a period of four weeks to see what effect lycopene restriction would have on bone health. At the end of the trial, the women showed signs of oxidative stress in their bones and unwanted changes in their bone tissue. The researchers concluded that removal of lyco- pene-containing foods, especially tomatoes, from the diet was likely to put women at increased risk of osteoporosis. In addition to the health benefits of lycopene, tomatoes are rich in other nutrients. One cup of sliced raw tomato provides these percent- ages of our daily requirements: 33 percent of vitamin C, 24 percent of biotin, 20 percent of molybdenum, 16 percent of vitamin K, 12 percent of potassium, eight percent of vita- mins A and B6, seven percent of fo- lic acid, five percent of magnesium and five percent of iron for men and three percent for women. August is the peak month for vine-ripened tomatoes—the ones with all the flavor. Hard, tasteless off-season tomatoes are hardly worth the money. But there are ways to have that marvelous taste of summer in your tomatoes year around. First, when it's mid-August, buy flats of vine-ripened tomatoes and can them yourself (they can beautifully). You can also freeze them whole, and then thaw them as needed. And if you're not up for canning or freezing, those 28-ounce cans of organic plum tomatoes at the market will have been canned at peak ripeness; much of summer's goodness will still be with them. An exception to this is the cherry tomato. They are succulently sweet through most of the year, although sweetness is no substitute for that summery tomato quality we love so much. Tomatoes are the quintessential flavor of the Mediterranean, from gazpacho in Spain to tabbouleh in Lebanon, but offer so much more to the clever cook. Chef Tom Colic- chio of Gramercy Tavern, Craft and Colicchio & Sons in New York de-stems and slices ripe tomatoes in half crosswise, then places them cut-side-down on parchment paper on a baking sheet. He tosses on a dozen or so unpeeled garlic cloves and a few sprigs of fresh thyme, drizzles the tomatoes with a half cup of olive oil, seasons them with a little salt and pepper and pops them in a 350-degree oven for 20 minutes. He pours off and saves any juice and pulls the skins off the tomatoes. They go back in the oven for 150 more minutes. He pours off more juice every 20 minutes or so and adds it to the juice container. After the roasting and cooling, he removes the thyme sprigs, puts the tomatoes into one container, the garlic in another to be peeled as needed and the collected juice in a third container and stores them in the fridge. They can also be frozen in small freezer bags and the juice frozen into ice cubes. Any of these ingredients adds explosive flavor to a wide range of mains and sides, soups, stews and other savory dishes. ■cr TOMATOES ARE THE QUINTESSENTIAL FLAVOR OF THE MEDITERRANEAN, FROM GAZPACHO IN SPAIN TO TABBOULEH IN LEBANON, BUT OFFER SO MUCH MORE TO THE CLEVER COOK.