The norm is for food influencers to pair their writing with an Instagrammable photo of food that will whet your appetite. But I wish to draw your attention to this lonesome Kumamoto-grown tomato on my son’s plate. 🍅 He’s a fussy eater when it comes to vegetables but he will gobble up tomatoes anytime.

And no wonder. Fun fact: do you know that the tomato is the umami champion of all vegetables? The source of the umami taste is glutamate, an amino acid found in many proteins. And tomatoes are chock-full of glutamate.
Another fun fact: do you know that Kumamoto is Japan’s largest producer of tomatoes? Specifically, Yatsushiro City (my wife’s hometown). (Which explains my motivation to broadcast Kumamoto’s tomatoes to the world.)

Moving on, the variety of tomatoes cultivated in Kumamoto is Shio tomatoes. Because they are not very big, this means that the umami is concentrated within them and packs a sweet powerful punch. I can verify this because I “stole” a slice of tomato from my son’s plate and enjoyed with relish the burst of flavour in my mouth!

Yatsushiro City also sells tomato ramen, so maybe you would like to treat your taste buds to something different when you visit Yatsushiro.
#熊本県産　#熊本トマト#八代市産　#日本のトマトが美味いから