Heirloom Tomatoes

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Wholesale Heirloom Tomatoes

An heirloom is an open-pollinated variety that has been grown from saved seed for generations, selected for flavor rather than for shipping. That is the whole trade: better tomatoes that bruise easily, ripen unevenly and never look uniform. Buyers who want a case of identical round red fruit are buying the wrong item.

What to Expect in a Mixed Case

Ribbing, shoulder cracking, green shoulders, catfacing and wildly different sizes are normal in heirlooms and are not grounds for rejection. What does matter is firmness, absence of soft spots, and intact skin. Mixed-color packs outperform single-color on both a plate and a retail table, so most of the volume moves that way.

Storage: The Rule That Matters Most

Never refrigerate a whole tomato. Below about 55°F the enzymes that produce tomato aroma shut down permanently and the flesh goes mealy. Hold heirlooms at 55–60°F, out of direct light, stem-side down, in a single layer. Refrigerate only after cutting, and use cut fruit within a day.

In the Kitchen

Do as little as possible. Thick slices, flaky salt, good olive oil, and time for the salt to draw out juice. Heirlooms are too watery and too valuable to cook down into sauce — that is a job for a paste tomato. On a menu they belong raw: caprese, panzanella, tomato salad, tartines, gazpacho.

Nutrition

Tomatoes are an excellent source of vitamin C and lycopene, with vitamin A, potassium and folate. Fat free, cholesterol free and low in sodium.

Order Heirloom Tomatoes Wholesale

Tell us your volume, pack and delivery city and we will confirm current availability, sizing and pricing. Reach our Miami or Los Angeles desk through the contact page. Packs, counts and origins change with the season, so ask our sales team for this week’s specs.

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