Kumato

"Everything I would usually use a red tomato in, I use a kumato as they noticeably enhance the taste," Ms Kakouros said. "The kumato really holds its own in cooking and goes with everything, raw or heated." Although kumatoes are available all year, the ideal time to buy is from November to late summer when the season peaks and the price is at its best. The kumato transitions from bright green skin to its ideal dark brown colour and then to a deep red as it reaches the end of its shelf life. It can be eaten at all stages: dark red is ideal for cooking, and brown skinned is perfect raw in salads or sandwiches. "Often people see the colour and are unsure because it is not the traditional red, but the minute they try the kumato they are converted," Ms Kakouros said. "That&what happened when I first tried one, and I knew I wanted more." Kumatoes are grown hydroponically to maximise taste, quality and consistency. Ms Kakouros trialled growing kumatoes in 2004 and since then has gone from 2000 to 30,000 plants in a 12,000 square metre greenhouse. Kumatoes, originally from the Galapagos Islands, were developed through the crossing of wild and domestic tomatoes, without genetic modification. They are recent to Australia, having only been grown in the country for four years but are now widely available at all Woolworths and Safeway stores.