Enlist all your senses when you select your next truss of tomatoes – but save the sensational taste for when you are home and ready to eat them!

Truss tomatoes look much more appealing than regular tomatoes. This is because they are handled very delicately when harvested; and also because they grow in a completely pest-free environment.

By knowing a few trade secrets, you can select the crème of the truss crop so that your tomatoes are perfection on a plate.

• Look for a deep red colour on the top tomatoes, and a lighter red colour on those at the bottom of the truss. Don’t worry – these bottom tomatoes will ripen into a ruby red in the coming days.

• Look at the green stem (truss) and ensure that it is bright green and fresh, not shrivelled or dry.

• Choose a truss with tomatoes of roughly the same size – this shows that the tomatoes have ripened evenly.

• Inhale the wonderful aroma of the green stem – the fresh smell should take you outside and into a country field.

• Truss tomatoes should be firm to the touch, but not too hard. Nor should they feel soft – this indicates that they are over-ripe.