I wonder if this is what they mean by "old fashioned taste?"

I should think that Rutgers and Marglobe might fit the bill.

Linda

Try Silvery Fir Tree.

It is EARLY, PRODUCTIVE, COMPACT and ACIDIC. You can grow them in 5 gallon (+/- ) pot, on the deck, patition.

To me, also , tomato has to taste more acidic than sweet. Call it "tangy".

Sey

In 1979 a study was published in The Journal of Food Science that compared the pH, the level of acidity, in 107 different varieties. Surprise, they discovered that they all fell into a very narrow range of pH (4.3-4.6) and that that pH varied only marginally depending on the soil in which they were grown in and the degree of ripeness when picked and tested (the more ripe the higher the pH).

So acidity isn't really the issue when it comes to flavor. Our taste buds age and change just as the rest of our body does, over-watering while ripening dilutes the taste while raising the pH, and letting the fruit over-ripen on the vine makes them sweeter too.

Brix, the level of sugars is a little more accurate measurement. The lower the brix the more tart the flavor. The problem brix doesn't remain consistent even within the same variety much less within different soils. Sioux is one variety consistently rated as low-brix (if you can find the seeds) but most varieties can range from 6-10 on the brix scale (10 being the sweetest).

But with over 400 flavor components identified in tomatoes finding the perfect flavor, or what we might recall as the perfect flavor, is nigh on impossible.

My personal suggestion would be for your Dad to try Matt's Wild Cherry if that size is acceptable to him..

Dave