Creole Tomato

Each year, the arrival of summer in New Orleans is marked with the first Creole tomatoes served on local tables. No other tomato stirs as much excitement among New Orleans’ locals and chefs as does the Creole tomato. “Creoles” are only grown in a unique area along the Mississippi River in Plaquemines and St. Bernard parishes, just south of New Orleans. This special area offers the needed alluvial soil to produce the distinguishable taste. One of the greatest culinary rewards of living in, or visiting, southern Louisiana is the pleasure of enjoying Creole tomatoes at the start of each summer.