At the Collingswood Farmers’ market this week two farms had VINE RIPENED JERSEY TOMATOES. Springdale Farms and Viereck Farms. Springdale offered boxes of neatly stacked small tomatoes and Les Viereck offered small, medium, and large priced by the tomato. I, of course, bought some of all.
My father (one of eight children raised during the Great Depression!) talked about baked bean sandwiches, ketchup sandwiches, and onion sandwiches.
I often eat a salad sandwich. That is a sandwich, usually on a roll, of lettuce, tomato, cucumber, red or green pepper, a piece of cheese, and mayonnaise. For those sandwiches just fresh everything is good enough. But to make a Jersey tomato sandwich one must have a JERSEY TOMATO. Nothing in the world tastes like them.
So here we are. It’s lunch time. And I have fresh, vine ripened Jersey tomatoes picked and purchased this morning.
Ingredients: one sliced vine ripened Jersey tomato, mayonnaise, fresh soft bread (wheat or white, but white is traditional), and a sprinkle of salt.
Directions: Slice the tomato as thick or thin as you prefer. Spread mayonnaise liberally on soft bread. Layer on the sliced tomato. Sprinkle with salt.
Heaven!
If you are a New Jersey native you don’t need these directions. You just need to know where to get those tomatoes. If you are not a New Jersey native and have never eaten a true Jersey tomato sandwich prepare to be delighted!
yellow room upstairs 
Lovely piece, Susan. Thank you for mentioning both Springdale Farm and Les Viereck. Bit of a typo at the end of your first paragraph. I, of course, BOUGHT some of all.
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Thanks for pointing out the typo. I do proofread but auto correct has no mercy…and, as you know, when proofreading your own writing things slip through. All fixed though!!!
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