“The tomato offers its gift of fiery color and cool completeness.”
Pablo Neruda
Our team in Virginia awoke with eagerness and excitement this morning as we officially kick off our tomato harvesting and roasting season! From now until mid-fall, the fields and production facilities will be preparing the roasted tomatoes that you will enjoy through much of 2024.
As with all FOODMatch specialties, we go through great lengths to secure you the best raw material. For tomatoes, that means securing our crop from fields across the Eastern seaboard (primarily in Pennsylvania, with occasional fill in from New Jersey). To secure top quality tomatoes we pay more per pound than a typical cannery producing ketchup, salsa, or sauce. We coordinate and contract every detail from varietal to seed type with the farmers to get exactly what we need each season.
The 2023 tomato crop looks bountiful. Throughout the growing season, mother nature cooperated, providing rainy nights and sunny days (the ideal combination for tomatoes). While one field in PA was flooded in some low spots, we do not anticipate any issue meeting our projected needs. Should further updates become available, we will share them, but for now, we look forward to the usual award-winning flavor and quality you’ve come to trust in a Divina Roasted Tomato.
Looking for a deeper dive into the quality behind our Roasted Tomatoes? Did you know...
Our tomatoes are harvested and processed within 4-24 hours
To maintain soil quality, our tomatoes are planted on 3–5-year rotations
Rotation allows the soil to reset and allows for less use of insect and pest treatment
Our fields use drip irrigation:
Allows for almost zero water waste
Tomatoes aren’t damaged from water pressure
No field flooding, which can damage soil and land
Our roasted tomatoes maintain an impressive level of traceability. We can pinpoint each tomato through all cycles of the supply chain:
Field
Varietal
Time picked & truck transported on
Date/time/temperature roasted in the oven
For more on our selection of Divina Roasted Tomatoes, including our full catalog of seasoned and unseasoned wedges, cuts, and diced selections, visit our tomato catalog.
Olives that are cured without undergoing fermentation are some of the brightest, freshest-tasting olives available. Traditionally, they can also be some of the more challenging crops to manage. We work tirelessly to bring this curing style to our classic Greek Halkidiki olives. The result is the Frescatrano™. Exclusive to Divina, this olive is meaty, buttery, sweet and vibrant. We love it for its color and flavor and for its consistency from crop to crop.
We offer the Divina Frescatrano in several formats convenient to specialty retailers, grocery stores, and foodservice establishments. From olive bar and deli to center aisle to a restaurant kitchen, we've got you covered.
Learn more about our various formats below. Contact your FOODMatch sales representative or email [email protected] to order.
FOODMatch and Divina –FOODMatch’s flagship brand – established National Olive Day in the United States eight years ago. Occurring annually on June 1, the holiday coincides with the new crop arrival of Kalamata olives. Each year, the company has marked this commemorative day in a fun and exciting way, and this year is no exception. FOODMatch is thrilled to announce the arrival of several new and innovative products in celebration of National Olive Day.
Available in bulk case packs of four 2.2 lb pouches, the new Divina Cerignola Verde is a bright eye-catching olive for restaurant menus, olive bars, and deli repack. Cured in the style of the Castelvetrano, Divina’s Cerignola Verde retains the firm, buttery bite and bright emerald color of the Castelvetrano with the stunning size of a classic Italian Cerignola, resulting in an aesthetically-pleasing olive for charcuterie boards and cheese plates.
For grocery and specialty retailers, FOODMatch has released a new marinated varietal line. The line consists of a classic Greek Market Mix and Pitted Italian Olive Mix, as well as an innovative Chili Lime Frescatrano™ Olive, all available in a shelf-stable glass jar. While they anticipate plenty enthusiasm for the entire line, Divina is especially excited to share the Chili Lime Frescatrano™ with fans of the brand. This trademark olive – an unfermented Halkidiki varietal that is known for its sweet, mild, buttery flavor – is marinated in a zesty, spicy chili lime brine. This is a unique flavor profile that’s staying ahead of current flavor trends.
According to FOODMatch’s VP of Marketing, Brandon Gross, “National Olive Day has been a way to honor and celebrate one of the oldest and most diverse foods in the world.”
New products are available for distribution across the U.S. and most of North America. Inquire about international ordering. For more information or to place an order, contact [email protected]. Existing customers should reach out to their FOODMatch sales representatives.
FOODMatch is an award-winning producer of traditionally and responsibly crafted Mediterranean olives, antipasti and specialty ingredients.
We are honored to announce that our First Crush Extra Virgin Olive Oil has been named Best New Product of the Year in the 2023 SOFI Awards Olive Oil category – our 14th SOFI Award as a company! Originally developed as a limited edition offering, our First Crush EVOO has received such enthusiasm that we now plan to make it available annually and have already started planning the next batch.
Our First Crush Olive Oil is crafted from Greek Koroneiki olives that are picked at the perfect time, then immediately crushed and bottled. The result is an early-harvest EVOO that offers bold, buttery flavor and mellows over time.
Why Early Harvest?
Early harvest olive oil is superior in both quality and flavor and boasts some potential health benefits. While all extra virgin olive oil is the result of the first pressing of olives, the very best olive oils come from olives that are picked while still green and unripe – or early harvest – in addition to that first press. The yield can be quite a bit lower from these unripe olives when compared to olives that are harvested later in the season, but the results are worth it.
Unripe olives retain more of the naturally-occurring polyphenols than their ripened counterparts. Polyphenols are compounds found in olives and other fruits and vegetables that act as antioxidants in the body, purportedly having anti-inflammatory properties. Higher-polyphenol olive oils also have a more complex flavor and aroma and hold up better at high heat than lower-polyphenol oils.
Meet the Growers
Our First Crush EVOO is crafted by the Renieris family on their groves in Crete. Check out the video below to meet the family and share in the harvest.
Customers interested in placing preorders should contact their FOODMatch sales rep or email [email protected].
Once again, the Mediterranean Diet has been named the #1 Overall Diet of 2022 by US News & World Report. The Mediterranean diet is a traditional way of eating throughout the regions surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. Many studies have shown that the Mediterranean Diet can contribute to longer lifespans and a higher quality of life.
While the dishes eaten in the Mediterranean will vary by country, this diet typically always includes fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, lean proteins like fish, and unsaturated fats like extra virgin olive oil. Unlike many other popular diets, the Mediterranean Diet does not prohibit any specific foods, but rather places an emphasis on eating mostly whole foods and suggests limited consumption of red meat, sweets, and dairy products. It’s all about variety and balance, not restriction.
Try a few of our Med Diet approved recipes featuring authentic, high-quality FOODMatch ingredients straight from the Mediterranean.
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