Cherry vs Campari vs Plum Tomatoes – The Best Variety for Every Occasion

Can you imagine pizza without the quintessential tomato sauce? Or a garden salad without fresh chopped tomatoes? With tomatoes being some of the popular garden vegetables everywhere, it’s hard to even imagine life without them. They’ve made their way into virtually every cuisine in the world and have become key ingredients in many dishes we all know and love.

Tomatoes come in numerous shapes, sizes and even colors, as a result of being cultivated in various regions across the planet. They usually thrive in temperate climates, but they’re also very commonly grown in greenhouses which makes them available all year round.

Some of the most popular varieties of tomatoes include red beefsteaks, plum tomatoes, heirlooms, cherry tomatoes, and cocktail tomatoes. Today we’re covering the smaller varieties – cherry, Campari and plum – to see how they stand out from one another and what types of dishes they’re best suited for.

Cherry tomatoes

Let us start off with the smallest of the bunch, the cherry tomatoes. These delicious bite-sized tomatoes are very versatile in the kitchen. They’re perfect for a quick, refreshing snack but they can also add loads of flavor to your dishes when cooked, sauced, dried, or grilled.

This tomato variety has gained a lot of attention in the United States over the last few decades, since the first public mention of cherry tomatoes dating back to the early 20th century.

What do cherry tomatoes taste like?

Cherry tomatoes are well known for their bright, almost candy-like sweet flavor and juicy, crisp bite. Their taste is similar to that of red beefsteak tomatoes, but due to their small size, the flavor is more concentrated and therefore more intense.

What to do with cherry tomatoes?

As far as cooking with cherry tomatoes goes, sky’s the limit. As we mentioned before, these tomatoes are extremely versatile and can be easily integrated in any dish you’re planning to cook for your restaurant.

Since they’re best consumed raw and pair wonderfully with other fresh vegetables, cheeses, meats and different spreads, you could add them to an appetizer platter, like this mouth-watering, colorful Mediterranean platter. Such a refreshing first course will surely set the tone for a wonderful dining experience for your guests.

Don’t miss the opportunity to really let cherry tomatoes shine in a fresh garden salad. Add them whole or chop them if needed, and they will unleash their sweet juicy flavor and beautiful colors into the mix.

Cherry tomatoes make great toppings and sauces for pizza or pasta, so don’t hesitate to use them in generous amounts. Roast them or grill them to create delicious side dishes that complement a juicy steak.

Campari tomatoes

Also known and marketed as tomatoes-on-the-vine or cocktail tomatoes, Campari tomatoes are a type of hybrid tomatoes. In terms of size, they sit between cherry tomatoes and plum tomatoes, with a slightly rounder shape than the plum variety.

What do Campari tomatoes taste like?

With Campari tomatoes you can expect a sweet, fruity and meaty taste, with softer skin than that of cherry tomatoes. Their flavor is made more potent through heat, so they are perfect candidates for sauces, stuffing or grilling.

What to do with Campari tomatoes?

Like most tomato varieties, Campari tomatoes can be consumed raw, allowing them to lend their fresh sweet flavor to salads, wraps, cheese platters and more. However, if you want to make sure you use them to their full potential, add some heat.

Make them a part of your breakfast menu and experiment with a Poached Eggs with Stewed Tomatoes recipe. Sautee your Campari tomatoes along with other vegetables like peppers and onions, add the eggs and impress your guests with a heart-healthy, light breakfast that will make them ask for seconds.

For the main course, pop some Campari tomatoes in the oven and add them to your pasta dishes, salads, pizzas or steaks for a juicy burst of flavor. Once they taste your creations, your guests will not want to go back to plain raw tomatoes even again.

Plum tomatoes

While most types of tomatoes are versatile, each variety is typically grown with a main purpose in mind. For plum tomatoes (also known as Roma tomatoes), the purpose is saucing.

Their chewy texture, rich flavor, small number of seeds and low water content makes them perfect for pastes. Size-wise, they’re slightly larger than cherry tomatoes and have a distinct oval, sometimes cylindrical shape.

What do plum tomatoes taste like?

Plum tomatoes boast an authentic, garden-fresh tomato flavor with a bit of tangy aftertaste. Just like Campari tomatoes, they behave wonderfully when cooked, and develop a rich, intense flavor when roasted in the oven.

What to do with plum tomatoes?

Although plum tomatoes are marketed as being just “paste tomatoes”, don’t be afraid to get creative with them in the kitchen. Look beyond the traditional tomato sauce and turn them into a soup or sandwich spread that serves as a light appetizer before a hearty main course.

Oven-roast them, mix in a few herbs and spices for an extra kick of flavor, and you have a memorable side dish to go with steaks, pork chops or even burgers. You can also use these roasted delicacies as toppings for pasta, bruschetta, risotto and even crepes.

Where can you find fresh wholesale tomatoes?

Many tomato varieties are available all throughout the year, although their best growing season is in the summer. If you’re looking to stock up on fresh tomatoes for your restaurant kitchen, your best bet is to reach out to produce wholesalers who will provide a steady supply of high-quality products whenever you need them.

Here at Riviera Produce, we carry many varieties of farm-fresh wholesale tomatoes, all year long. Check out our selection and stock up your restaurant kitchen with the best-quality tomatoes in the Tri-State area.