Tomatoes

Iconic tomatoes—the big, fat, red beefsteak kind—now share the limelight with a colorful array of heirloom varieties. Even cherry tomatoes now come in all different sizes and shapes. Tomatoes need hot sunny weather to thrive and just don’t travel well. The vast majority of supermarket varieties—in season or not— are either picked green and ripened off the vine or grown in hothouses. Either way, the end result is the same: They’re bland and not juicy enough. So in the off-season, I usually reach for canned tomatoes. During peak summer, I try to seek out those grown locally.

Preparing: I chop them small enough—or purée them before or after cooking—to retain all the tomato flavor.

Best cooking methods: roasting, grilling or broiling, pan-frying; raw in sauce and salsa

When are they done? Whenever you want them to be, from raw to cooked until just soft to a mushy sauce

Other vegetables or fruits you can use: tomatillos (beware: they’re tangy!), pineapple, peaches, nectarines; watermelon (for raw tomatoes)