The High Desert Foods Collection. We have created a full line of organic tomato products that take advantage of the flavor and nutritional benefits of our high desert grown San Marzano type roma tomatoes. We have produced a line of delicacies that are sure to tantalize your palate. The crown jewel of our line is our smoke dried tomatoes packed in organic olive oil. When we begin pruning our fruit trees in late winter, we save some of the branches and chip them up and let them dry out slowly. We are then left with an exotic blend of organic apple, cherry, pear, peach, and plum wood chips. In late summer, as our tomato harvest reaches its peak, we gather our San Marzano type tomatoes and slowly smoke dry them over several days. After losing most of their moisture, we then pack them in organic olive oil. In addition to the smokey flavor captured in the tomatoes, the oil also takes on some of the smokey flavor essence from the tomatoes. The pairing of the tomatoes and the olive oil provides two potent ingredients that can be used to flavor all manor of dishes.

A Secret of the Ancients. Did you know that the tomato is native to the Americas and was cultivated by the Aztecs and Incas as early as 700 AD? The Aztecs called it xitomatl, meaning plump , and they learned to cultivate it and incorporate it into many aspects of their diet. The tomato's rich, robust flavor has been part of both Southwestern and European cuisine for centuries.

Sun Worship. As these ancient peoples knew, the taste of tomatoes depends on the climate and soil in which they are grown, and the high desert sun and rich soil of Kiva Orchards provides a prime environment for producing fiery red fruits of the vine. The meaty texture of field grown Roma tomatoes cultivated in the potent sunlight of this ancient site is the jewel behind the line of tomato based products recently introduced by High Desert Foods.

Beauty That's More Than Skin Deep . The beauty of the tomato goes deeper than its vibrant red color. With recent trends toward eating a healthful and diverse diet rich in vitamins and antioxidants, much attention is now being paid to the value of tomatoes in our diet. After all these years of enjoying them for their taste, we're learning that they are really good for you! Rich in Vitamins A and C as well Potassium, tomatoes have come to the forefront as truly the best source of the powerful antioxidant lycopene. Lycopene is responsible for not only the rich red pigment of the tomato, but also many of its health benefits. Lycopene counteracts the harmful affects of free radicals, substances that can contribute to the incidence of disease.

Consider the Source. Consuming lycopene through a diet rich in tomatoes and tomato based products has been linked to reduced risks in many types of cancer as well as heart disease. And here's the kicker, while scientists are beginning to understand the connection between lycopene and disease resistance, they truly don't understand the interaction that takes place between the numerous phytochemicals in tomatoes which are also part of the disease fighting process. In short, they conclude that there are more advantages to eating tomatoes than we know about at this time, and that consuming lycopene through eating tomatoes has many advantages over taking it in pill form. And here's another good thing – tomatoes don't lose any of this nutritional potency in processing!