KC Tomato Times Blog

We pushed the envelope of ripeness this year, but managed to have 48 varieties ripe and ready to taste this morning.  It’s half of what we had last year, but with the crazy weather we’ve had, I was very grateful to have the diversity we had.  About 100 people joined us for our 7th Annual Tomato Tasting…many old friends and a lot of new faces as well!  We were very fortunate with a comfortable breeze which made it very nice to be outside this morning…the heat returned soon after we were finished so having the tasting in the mornings seems to be the best bet!

The Local  Pig did a great job as our hosts and they broke out big pans of smoked ham, pepperoni, and sausages for all to enjoy.  I saw a lot of our tasters taking home brown paper sacks full of locally produced meats.  I can’t thank Alex, Matt and their whole crew enough for all of the generosity and help during the past three years!

I took a few pictures of the tasting and stole some pics from tasters who posted on FB…thanks to the shutterbugs who captured some great moments!

We also did our totally unscientific voting for the favorite tomato and we had some surprising results.  Sungold was toppled as one of the perennial winners!

Last year’s Tomato Tasting was one for the record books with 100 varieties of tomatoes available for tasting!  This year….we’re definitely going to be much lower than that number.  The heavy rains and lack of sunshine in May and June have us a few weeks behind schedule.  Some varieties are ripening though and we’ll have a decent selection of varieties to taste for sure.

The tomato varieties are the star of the show, but the awesome meats The Local Pig breaks out and the scrumptious dishes everyone bring to share are reason alone to spend your Saturday morning in the east bottoms with us!

Please review the F.A.Q.’s below to help make your trip to the 6th KCTTTT a memorable success for all of us!

• Where and when is the KCTTTT?  The tasting is from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, July 25th at the Local Pig (2618 Guinotte Ave, Kansas City, MO 64120)  Please click the link to get directions as it can be a bit difficult to find if you’re never been there before.
• How much does it cost?  The KCTTTT has been and always will be a free event.
• What should I bring?  Please bring labeled varieties of tomatoes if you can for people to enjoy.  We love tomato variety and want to have as many types of tomatoes to taste as possible!  Put your tomatoes in a brown paper lunch sack with the variety labeled on the sack.  Check them in with Jen at the registration table to get your tickets for the prize drawings.  Each variety you bring gets you one ticket for the drawing…bring as many varieties as you can for the best chances to win!

The big hit of every tomato tasting is the creative dishes people bring for others to sample.  Break out your favorite tomato dish  recipes and we look forward to devouring them!

Also,you might want to bring a lawn chair to sit in as seating will be very limited with the large crowd we are expecting.

• I don’t have any tomatoes to bring this year, what else can I bring?  It’s ok if you don’t have tomatoes to bring, but we would appreciate it if you would bring along something to accompany the spread of food.  Fresh breads, cheeses, sweets, or anything else that you think people would enjoy will definitely be appreciated.
• What else is there to do at the tomato tasting besides eat and eat and eat?  You will have the opportunity to vote for your 5 favorite tomato varieties, so be sure to bring a pen to write on your voting tickets.  If you’re a gardener, you might also want to bring a pad and paper to write down your favorite varieties so you can grow them in your garden in the future.  You will also be surrounded by like minded foodies and gardeners who are the friendliest people on the planet…I’m sure you’ll have plenty to talk about!  Also, make sure you make a trip inside The Local Pig to buy some of their fantastic sausages, bacon, steaks, and other amazing products!
• How can I help with this event?  We are always looking for help setting up and taking down the event.  I will arrive around 7:30 in the morning to put down table cloths and start organizing the tables and tomatoes.  Jen will need one person to help with the registration.  Around 8:00 we’ll need a couple of people to help with slicing and labeling tomatoes to put on the tables.  If you would like to help out, please arrive early and we’ll put you to work!