Tomatoes – you either love them (like my mom who will eat them in any form, from jam to ripe off the vine) or loathe them (like a few of my colleagues who absolutely despises the explosion of seeds and flavour when you bite into these red lovelies). I enjoy a plump, juicy tomato, and had my first taste of tomato jam earlier this year. They’re best fresh though, in my opinion.

So when ZZ2 sent me a collection of their “little rascals”, it took some self-control not to devour both packets of Romanito mini-plum tomatoes on the spot. My box also contained a packet of Bacio and a packet of Rigoletto tomatoes.

• Romanita is ZZ2‘s flagship tomato and is sweet, crisp and bursting with tomato goodness – it is ideal for sauces because it is so flavourful. But I’ve found they’re even better rinsed and consumed without frills 🙂
• Bacio is the Italian word for kiss and this cherry-type tomato has been so named after its bright red colour and taste.
• Rigoletto is a plum-type tomato that was bred by Boaz, who named it ‘Rigoletto’ because he loves the opera.  This tomato has an intense red colour and great flavour.

ZZ2 uses ‘natuurboerdery’ (Nature Farming) as the dominant farming philosophy in all its commercial farming interests today.  The aim of this is to harness the laws and energies of natural ecosystems for healthy and sustainable crop production.  This is done without sacrificing the benefits of technology and science or compromising progress and development in farming methods.

Essentially, ‘natuurboerdery’ is about using the best technology in harmony with nature and, for ZZ2, this translates broadly into:

• Long term improvement and stabilisation of the soil
• Optimum and sustainable yields
• Nutrient-dense fruit
• Promotion of human health
• Practises resulting in an ecological balance
• Conservation of natural resources.

You can follow ZZ2 Farming on Facebook and Twitter to read all about their little rascals and how to best use them in delicious dishes.