Fred Swedberg passed away Jan. 5 from an aggressive cancer.

Twenty years ago a budding, heirloom tomato enthusiast got invited into the cramped living room of one of New England’s true godfathers of heirloom tomatoes, Fred Swedberg, to unexpectedly share a measure of his gold.

I’d known Fred’s son, Will from street-side hacky sack circles in and around Orange in the ‘80s. Later, I’d met Fred casually, at local fairs and farmers markets, and we were drawn together by a shared passion for heritage variety tomatoes. I was a starry-eyed amateur, whereas Fred had been growing, promoting and trafficking these heirlooms for years from the front yard and driveway of his rustic, country home on a windy backvroad heading toward Laurel Lake.

About 20 years ago, before we really knew each other at all, Fred invited me to visit him at his home. I figured he’d chat me up, brag on his numerous tomato exploits, and maybe gift me a few seeds from his unusual stash. But there on the crowded couch, surrounded by weathered family appointments and furniture, in a house that was itself a living heirloom, this garrulous, giant of a man, with an obvious love for (perhaps even obsession with) heirloom tomato varieties, proceeded to “pinch” me out, one by one, precious samples of around 65 of his most unusual varieties, for no apparent reason other than a love for his unique treasure and an authentic desire to see these rare heirlooms propagated and passed on…

Armed with a Boston Globe and a sharpie pen, I proceeded to wrap and label every tomato variety and preserve some mental notes of the wild stories and commentary Fred added with each one. Some of the varieties were old favorites like Brandywine and Cherokee Purple, but others were unheard of selections with homespun names from someone’s dead granny, from Siberia, Iberia or the Blue Ridge Mountains. Fred praised the giant, bi-color and off-color beefsteaks, and some ribbed, bulbous and oblong anomalies with names like “Orange Calabash”, “Green Monsta” and “Radiator Charlie”. Fred also was dedicated to creating (by hand pollination) new heirloom hybrids each year, by selecting and crossing for shape, color, taste and ripening dates. Each new creation got a new name, and history, oftentimes allegorical, fantastic, or downright fabricated! Fred could sure spin a yarn. He knew how to have fun.

Now I’m reflexively cautious about folks who come off as overly friendly or too quick to generosity. However there was something entirely different about Fred’s friendly — none of it was an act! It’s ironic and fitting that Fred’s boundless love found it’s perfect metaphor in those open pollinated, heirloom seeds, which by definition, defy “ownership” and instead “belong” forever, freely, and generously to all who need them. I quickly realized Fred wanted nothing from me, other than perhaps to try growing out his tomatoes.

Over the years, our friendship grew and blossomed like midsummer fruit, with mutual gardeners generosity and wonderful, albeit infrequent family visits, and lots of heirloom tomato sharing!

Fred was a humble, hardscrabble, green steward and foodie, a man of God and family, a giant of a man, who’d been through a lot of personal loss over the last decade of his life. But he will be missed dearly and remembered always for his sunny spirit and great laugh, his deep love for his family, his friends, his affection for playing bluegrass music, festivals, and of his amazing heirloom tomatoes which he gifted ceaselessly to the world with a heartfelt generosity.

Fred Swedberg passed away Jan. 5 from an aggressive cancer.
Difficult moments sometimes lead to great ideas, and solutions for problems are mostly found reacting in a timely manner and with the courage to change direction. This is what lies behind the new range of red and yellow cherry tomato products launched by the Italian company Italo's Farmer. "The sauce range was created in the summer of 2020, when the closure of some sales channels caused by the pandemic made it almost impossible to place the surplus of fresh produce," Giuseppe Cilio says.
Truly unique flavor
The company is located Santa Croce Camerina (RG), an area with the Hyblaean mountains to the north-east and the Mediterranean Sea to the south-east.  "The characteristics of the soil, irrigation waters, sunlight and winds make the flavor of the produce truly unique," Giuseppe says.  On its 20 hectares of protected crops, Italo's Farmer produces: red and yellow plum, Piccadilly and cherry tomatoes; round, oblong, streaked and white eggplants; red, yellow and green bell peppers. 

Their fresh produce is placed in appealing packages, such as Italo’s Shaker (photo below), a clear cup containing small tomatoes perfect for a quick healthy snack. 35% of the Italo's Farmer production is destined abroad to Northern Europe and the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Great Britain and Iceland in particular. 
Turn them into sauces
But when the European hospitality sector shut down because of the corona outbreak, the sales channels of Italo's Farmer fell away. "We could not decide not to harvest the produce, so we decided to turn our red cherry, yellow cherry and plum tomatoes into sauces," recalls Giuseppe Cilio, founder and CEO of Italo's Farmer.

The red and yellow sauces are made by the company's processing plant using 100% tomatoes. They are available in 300 and 360g glass bottles. The classic red tomato sauce is instead available in dark glass bottles.

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"We obtained around 100 thousand bottles, which we filled with a classic Sicilian caponata made with our own eggplants. This product is acquired by specialized channels in both Italy and northern Europe."

Thanks to the collaboration with chef Simone Rugiati, Italo's Farmer promotes its local products using original recipes through dedicated channels.
Reliable brand
"Agriculture is going through a complex period due to a series of factors, which include market placement. Just like for the fresh produce, it is in fact not always easy to explain that quality has its price when it comes to premium processed products as well. In our case, the good quality/price ratio means we can sell our products via the big retail chain (discount chains excluded). We like to be considered a reliable brand that stands out for the flavor of the raw materials and original solutions. I believe that, in order to obtain market margins, agriculture must innovate."