Jardin Rabelais Cherry Tomatoes
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Cherry vine tomatoes from Jardin Rabelais, a French grower based in the south-west. These are thin-skinned, juicy, and noticeably sweeter than the cherry tomatoes most UK consumers are used to — grown under glass for flavour rather than shelf life or transport resilience, which is why they do not appear in mainstream retail.
The sugar-to-acid ratio is high but balanced — sweet without being flat, with enough acidity to keep the flavour interesting. Eaten raw, the skin bursts cleanly and the juice is concentrated. The aroma when you open the punnet is distinctly tomato-plant — green, peppery, and warm — which comes from the volatile compounds in the vine and calyx that indicate the fruit was picked at full ripeness rather than gassed after harvest.
These work well eaten straight from the punnet at room temperature, which is how they are best. They are also good halved in a simple salad with olive oil, flaky salt, and torn basil — the thin skin means they absorb a dressing quickly. If you want to cook them, a fast roast at high heat (220°C, 10–12 minutes) concentrates the sugars and collapses the skins without turning them to paste. They pair naturally with burrata, good olive oil, and bread, or tossed through pasta with garlic and chilli at the last moment.
Store at room temperature, not in the fridge — cold storage kills the volatile compounds that give these their aroma.
Producer: Jardin Rabelais — a specialist tomato grower in south-west France.