Ina Garten's Favorite Tomatoes Don't Come From Italy

When you ask chefs what their go-to canned tomato is, they'll invariably say San Marzano, and Ina Garten is no exception. Recognized for their dense, sweet flesh, low acidity, and relatively low water content, the tomatoes — grown in southern Italy near Naples and available in the United States primarily in canned form — are ideal for making tomato sauce. (They were even among Food Republic's top-rated canned tomatoes.) Yet when it comes to fresh tomatoes, Garten doesn't venture far from home. She heads to the farmstand run by Balsam Farms in Amagansett, New York. The beachside town is just a short drive from Garten's home in East Hampton. "I'm obsessed with using them in everything!" the chef known as the Barefoot Contessa said in an Instagram post. She called the tomatoes, along with corn also grown by the farm, "the taste of summer."

Garten has her choice of tomatoes at Balsam — the farm grows more than 100 varieties. Started in 2003 by Alex Balsam, with 10 rented acres, a tractor, and a small roadside stand, the farm now encompasses 200 acres, along with four-season greenhouses, a larger farmstand, and a market in Montauk (a surfing haven and tourist spot on the eastern tip of Long Island). If you can visit the farmstand, it's helpful to know about the different varieties of tomatoes available. For those who are unable to venture "out east," as locals and regular visitors refer to the wealthy hamlets on the island's south shore, the farm operates an online general store, where you can buy a variety of tomato-based products, including salsas, jam, sauces, Bloody Mary mix, and jarred plum tomatoes.

Ina Garten's Instagram post featured a carousel of photos of some of the dishes she has made using Balsam Farm tomatoes. Among the recipes she showcased were a tomato tart, an heirloom tomato and blue cheese salad, salmorejo (a Spanish cold tomato soup similar to gazpacho), tomatoes and burrata — recipes that can all be found in her cookbooks — and a summer garden pasta she demonstrated via video. Perhaps Balsam tomatoes are also one of Garten's secrets for a beautiful caprese salad.

Ina Garten isn't the only local chef who buys produce from Balsam Farms. Balsam supplies its products to popular local restaurants like Nick & Toni's. On Instagram, East Hampton caterer Annie Washburn described the farm as a "chef's secret," posting, "Balsam treats their produce with the utmost respect, washing their greens by hand, picking their produce on the exact right day. Only putting out the best they can grow." She also called the farmstand where Garten also shops "my escape from the kitchen for a bit where I can get some of the final touches that make our food beautiful and delicious."