They grew up with the same parents (Betsy and Newlin Hastings), in the same house (18 Old Mill Road, Pasadena, California), attended the same grade schools and even colleges (Westridge and Smith), and yet my mom says Tomayto and Aunt Annie says Tomahto.
Over the years, I’ve wondered how could this be. Annie is four years Mom’s senior and was born in 1946. I thought possibly after the war there was a tomato shortage and Annie grew up only reading about tomatoes in books, thinking that it was pronounced Tomahto never having heard it in real life. This theory wouldn’t account for there never having been a great tomato famine – ever — and especially not in Pasadena where my grandmother had a prolific garden and fresh veggies were easier to get than fresh air at that time.
Possibly a British houseguest visited when Annie was learning to speak and Annie picked it up from her. But, do the British even say tomahto? Who says tomahto anyway?
Or maybe Annie chose sides on the jingle, You say tomayto, I say tomahto. It’s clear, though, who’s right in the song. You say tomayto. I say tomahto. You say potayto. I say potahto. Please! No one says potahto. “Well, I just can’t decide between the potahto salad or mashed potahtos.”
The strangest thing is that Annie is the only one in the whole family who says tomahto. That’s just one of her idiosyncrasies.
She’s left-handed, color blind, hardly sleeps, travels with every free 12-hour period and will often bring a stash of liquor in her suitcase just in case there happen to be no bars at her destination, or if the drinks are watery and over-priced. Annie loves a good time with good friends and good food.
I can tell you that tomayto sauce and tamahto sauce actually taste different. Everyone knows tomayto sauce, be it fresh or from a jar. It’s simple and slightly acidic, which make it perfect for pizzas or pastas.
Tamahto sauce has a little something else.
First, it’s made from tamahtoes, which are a deeper red, sweeter, and grown outside of the 500 mile radius of where you grew up. They vary in shape and size, and can’t be found at your local grocer.
The tamahto sauce adds further complexity to the tomahto's mysterious taste, with herbs that sound familiar, but again are more exotic. Think oraygono and bahsÃl!
