That is common with fused fruits. I have one Brandy Boy on my counter right now which is similar.

Just leave it on the counter til it gets ripe. Then enjoy it .

Sey

Agreed, nothing abnormal there, and i would not let such a large fruit go to waste.

Let it ripen, then cut away the inedible part and enjoy.

Steve

Eat it? Sure. Fused fruit and catfacing are both fairly common with beefsteak type fruits. It is just caused by exposure to cool temps at the time of pollination. And the streaks are a normal part of the ripening process with many bi-color varieties.

<as it came from a Home Depot variety 6 pack.>

That is one of the problems with growing unknown varieties - you don't know what to expect from them and what is normal.

Dave

Yes, i would eat that! :-)

The problem some of these heirlooms are the bottom get ripe before the top, so that spot in the bottom might already have insects in it, and if you cut it open you might see worm. So just be careful when prepare it.

When you grow heirloom always pay attention to the ripeness from the bottom.

Thanks everyone for the advice! Ok, I will keep it and be careful for worms when I'm ready to dive in. So glad I asked you all!

All tomatoes ripen from the bottom up, from the blossom end up. But catfaced fruit does not mean there is a worm inside or even any bacterial growth. Can't tell from the pic if that is open or not and of course if it is open to the air the first thing that might develop is mold.

Dave

dont worry, thats totally normal. should ripen in the next few days indoors and then you just eat it like a regular tomato after cutting that off :) tons of my beefsteaks and fused tomatoes (2 fused into 1) look just like that! enjoy!