Memes

Kind of an aside, but there are a lot people who think they don't like tomatoes because of what is generally commercially available and sold as "fresh" tomato.

It's actually wild how different vine-ripened tomatoes are in taste and texture, compared to their commercially produced counterparts.

The flavour and texture of fresh tomatoes tends to develop more fully than if picked half-ripe and ripened during transport or storage. Also, the soil tomatoes are or aren't grown in has a pretty significant influence on its flavour. Refrigeration also has a pretty significant effect on taste as well. It's suggested that you don't chill them, as this reportedly changes the flavour considerably.

There are actually a few recent studies that assess the flavour qualities of different tomatoes by region, variety and method of growing. Commercially produced tomatoes have largely been selected for shelf life and yield, without much consideration given to taste or texture (and it shows).