Maker Β· Naaldwijk and Burgerveen Β· Vegetables
Looye
A bunch of cherry tomatoes as sweet as candy. Looye builds the sweetness in the greenhouse and delivers a tomato you put on the plate raw, just as it is.
The story
Who's behind it
Looye Growers started in 1946 when Jacobus Looije set up his first greenhouse in the Westland. The business now grows at two locations, Naaldwijk and Burgerveen, and supplies the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium. Their best-known tomato is their own: the honey tomato, a bunch cherry that made its name with its sweetness.
In Burgerveen there's a modern 8.2-hectare greenhouse, semi-closed, so the climate can be tightly controlled all year round. The grower sets heat, moisture and light himself.
Variety and growing
The honey tomato grows on the Piccolo cherry variety. Looye is among the few growers in Europe allowed to work with it. The variety sets how much sugar a tomato can build up.
Looye uses high-level full LED lighting, so the plant makes sugars all day long, including in the dark months. Irrigation and feeding are tuned on data so the plant builds sweetness. The result is a honey-sweet tomato with a fresh, gently acidic finish.
The tomatoes come as Class Extra, tight on the bunch, sweet enough to eat like candy.
In your kitchen
They're at their best raw: halved with burrata, in a fresh salad or as a bite before dinner. The honey note gives the dish its sweetness.
If you want them warm, keep it short. A quick glaze in the pan or a slow confit concentrates the sweetness. Put Looye on the menu by name.
Chefβs tip
Use them raw. Halve them over a plate with acidity and salt around them, say against a squeeze of lemon or good sharp olive oil. The fresh aftertaste balances fat and creaminess, so they go with burrata and with firm fish.
How to use it
Ideas for your menu
Raw with burrata
Halved, with olive oil, salt and basil. The tomato's sweetness and the cheese's fat hold each other in balance.
Quick glazed in the pan
Briefly pan-fried on the bunch until the skin just bursts, as a warm garnish for fish or gnocchi. They keep their shape.
Confit from the oven
Low and slow with garlic and thyme. The sugar concentrates and gives an intensely sweet base for pasta or bread.
Fresh in a salad
Raw next to cucumber, red onion and sharp dressing. The honey note sweetens the dressing.
For your menu
βLooye honey tomato, cherry on the bunch from Naaldwijkβ
Products from Looye
What we carry from this maker
Tomaten cherry aan de tros honing 3kg
Prices and availability are in the portal. Become a customer or log in to order.
Taste it in your own kitchen
Book a no-obligation tasting with Niels and taste it for yourself.