Between 25^th May -7^th June the British Tomato Growers Association celebrate British Tomato Fortnight. Head to their Twitter page or website where they share information and recipes throughout the week.

Here at Becketts, we believe British-grown tomatoes are something to celebrate. British tomato growers supply about 92,000 metric tonnes per year to British consumers – about a fifth of the total volume of tomatoes sold in the country through the year, and up to a half in the summer. Tomatoes grown closer to home have the distinct taste and smell of those tomatoes which grandad used to grow in the back garden. Fresh, grassy and sweet!

Meet the Grower

Our fantastic supplier, R&L Holt in Evesham, keeps our Farm Shop in good supply of fresh tomatoes for much of the year. Their amazing production process allows them to farm tomatoes throughout the winter months, as well as summer. R & L Holt is a family business originally formed in 1979 by Rick and Laura Holt and now includes their son and daughter Roly and Felicity Holt.

You can learn more about their fascinating production process here.

Locked-down Tomatoes!

During these times, we’ve seen staples like tinned tomatoes disappear from our shelves. So, the tomato season is a welcome arrival. Using fresh tomatoes in pasta sauces, curry dishes or chilli is a brilliant alternative with delicious results!

One idea is to make a tasty fresh pizza sauce to top homemade pizzas! The children will love to get their hands messy this half term making their perfect pizza. A pizza and movie afternoon could be just the treat. With drawn curtains and cosy sofas, you can bring that longed-for cinema trip to your living room. As well as tomatoes, our Farm Shop has bread flour and yeast in stock if you want to make the dough from scratch too. If you’re not feeling that adventurous, you could pick up one of the easy to use premix #BakeOn kits from Flower and White. This kit just requires the addition of water and oil to make scrummy pizza dough, that’s gluten free too! Here’s a great recipe for the pizza sauce.

Perhaps the missing pasta and rice from the shelves up until recently, inspired you to pick up a packet of quinoa or couscous instead. But now, it’s sitting staring at you in the cupboard and you’re wondering how to use it and what for. With the lovely sunshine, both of these staples form a healthy base for tasty salad dishes, which you can pack full of flavour (especially with some British tomatoes to hand!). We love this recipe for Roasted Tomatoes with Couscous and Feta. Roasting cherry tomatoes on the vine is just the simplest way to maximise their sweetness. This makes a wholesome meal, can be portioned smaller for lunchboxes or served alongside those perfectly charred BBQ meats.