The 2 Types Of Tomatoes You Shouldn't Waste On Homemade Salsa

Sure, you can add unique ingredients and herbs to your homemade salsa however you please, but there are two ingredients we wouldn't recommend for salsa. Surprisingly, both are types of tomatoes, but still, whatever you do, do not use heirloom or cherry tomatoes! 

First off, it would be a waste to use any of the gorgeous heirloom tomatoes you got from the local farmers market since their misshapen bodies make perfect additions to any sandwich. The large, almost sweet tomato is way too glamorous (and expensive) to be blended, or even rough chopped for a pico de gallo. They must shine on their very own in a Panzanella salad or as a main topping for a fancy bagel.

The same goes for cherry tomatoes. They're way too expensive and inconvenient to be macerated and blended with spices! In fact, cherry tomatoes are often the most expensive tomatoes on the market, and their perfect bite-size shape makes them suitable for salads, not salsas or sauces. Plus, most salsas call for peeled tomatoes, and the labor that would go into peeling individual cherry tomatoes for a serving of salsa simply is not worth it. 

Thankfully, avoiding these tomato varieties is easy to do, while other tomatoes will cost you less and give you a better end product.

Before making your salsa, know your tomatoes. While heirloom tomatoes are notorious for their fleshiness, they're way too expensive to be used in blended salsa. Of course, if you're in a pinch, you could use the heirloom tomato for a pico de gallo, but you wouldn't be using the tomato for its intended purpose; heirloom tomatoes are best enjoyed with minimal chopping and seasonings, and can even be a delicious snack on their own with a simple sprinkling of salt and pepper.

Cherry tomatoes are also much more suited for dishes like salads or pastas. Their fruity and sweet aroma makes them great on their own, and their size is perfect for being halved rather than finely chopped or blended. Plus, Bon Appétit found that this type of tomato simply didn't become as saucy once it was blended into a salsa. So save some money and choose a cheaper tomato for your homemade salsa.

If you want to make a classic fire-roasted salsa, you could use essentially any kind of tomato from the plum or beefsteak family, since the whole thing is blitzed into a sauce-like consistency. However, if you're making a chunkier salsa or a pico de gallo, you should probably opt for a tomato that is more fleshy than juicy. Roma tomatoes are a great choice for chunkier salsas since they have fewer seeds in the middle and more bite. Opting for any type of plum tomato is a good choice and would result in a great salsa you'll want to make over and over again.