When I mentioned to a friend that I was waiting to see a copy of Amy Goldman's book The Heirloom Tomato: From Garden to Table she said she already had a copy. "It's like pornography," she said laughingly. Every page of this book has amazing photography by Victor Schrager, and it is indeed beautiful.
"There's something for everyone in this book," said Goldman by telephone on Sunday night. If you have a garden, you can use the book as a reference for what to plant. If you're a city-dweller, you can use the book as a reference for what to buy at the farmers market. If you're an art lover, you will appreciate the book for its asthetics and photography.
In order to write the book Goldman, who has previously written books about melons and squashes, personally grew 1000 varietals of heirloom tomatoes. She then culled the group to her 250 favorite tomatoes and created the book.
In addition to finding rare seeds and growing heirloom tomatoes, Goldman has created several tomatoes of her own. The photo above is called Goldman's Italian American. She found the seed in Italy and named it after her father's grocery store in Brooklyn. It's similar to a Costoluto Genovese, a tomato you can try at the Eatwell Farm booth at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market.
Amy will be at several locations around the Bay Area this week:
COMMONWEALTH CLUB
Wednesday, September 10
Location: Club Office, 595 Market Street, 2nd Floor, S.F. Closest Bart: Montgomery Street Station
Time: 11:30 pm check-in, noon program, 1 p.m. book signing
Cost: $8 members, $15 non-members, $7 students (with valid ID)