I have a neighbor who is friends with a bunch of nearby farmers. He has been sharing with me donations of fruits and veggies that he brings home, including several varieties of tomatoes at various stages of ripeness. There are more than we can eat fresh, so I am dehydrating them as they become ripe on my kitchen counter. But, I cut into one this morning (sandwich slicing size) that looked and “felt” ripe, only to find flesh that still has firm, white areas. I took a picture, but it won’t load here.

I cut into another tomato, that appeared identical to me, and it was a deep, lush, flavorful red throughout—the epitome of why we eat tomatoes fresh from the garden. So, I came to the experts for information. Do some varieties just stay partly white? Unfortunately, I don’t know which varieties I have been given. I do still have a large bowl full of what appear to be a Roma-type, that are all a lovely deep red, but still feel hard as rocks. Is it possible these are actually ripe? Is there a decent way to assess ripeness before actually cutting into each fruit? Thank you in advance.

Martha