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Tomato taste report, 2017

9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago

What are your favorite tomatoes for taste that you grew this year?

Mine favorites out of about a hundred varieties (although I still have some to taste), this year, are these (with 1 being my favorite for flavor):

  1. Tatura
  2. My super dwarf Husky Cherry Red F4
  3. Marmande
  4. White Queen (I only got one or two fruits)
  5. Mountain Princess
  6. Scary Larry
  7. Sasha's Altai
  8. New Yorker
  9. Maglia Rosa
  10. Sweet Orange Cherry
  11. Galapagos Island (Solanum cheesmanii)
  12. My indeterminate Husky cherry Red F4
  13. My plum-shaped Husky Cherry Red F4
  14. Amana Orange
  15. Chocolate Pear
  16. Ron's Carbon Copy x ? (pink; golfball-size; very sweet)
  17. Thessaloniki Ox Heart
  18. Chapman
  19. Thessaloniki
  20. Matina
  21. Manitoba
  22. George Detsikas Italian Red
  23. Pink Berkeley Tie Dye
  24. Red Beauty
  25. Cuor Di Bue
  26. Pruden's Purple

There were other good ones, and flavor isn't the only thing that makes a favorite, but I'm not sure how to rank them (either because I don't remember the taste well enough, or because it's difficult to decide).

I should note that Sweet Orange Cherry, Galapagos Island, Maglia Rosa, Mountain Princess, and Chocolate Pear each had improved flavor this year (I've grown them before). Also, I could probably change the positions around depending on the moment.

I'm really impressed with Tatura. I'm sure you would be, too, if it tastes the same for you.

Comments (8)

  • 9 years ago

    do u save seeds? I am saving also . Looking for trades. Dont look at my list. It is outdated. Hope to get it redone soon.

  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Yep, I save seeds, and I have lots of kinds. I do trades within the USA. Take a look at the link I have for my tradelist. I saved seeds from all those that I listed above for sure. I need to add to the saved seed list: I've saved from most in my 2017 growlists.

  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    For the first time, I don't think I had what I would call a bad variety this season. I grew 20 varieties and was content with every single one of them. Certainly, some were better than others, but it was a fantastic tomato season for me. I tend to grow for as much production as possible because I can a ton of tomatoes, so several of the best tasting tomatoes aren't necessarily among my favorite for that reason. We all know some varieties are worth growing strictly for taste, production be damned. :)

    My list is below and ranked by flavor alone, but I also included notes on growth, productivity, etc. for people curious in more than flavor (1 best, 19 least best):

    1. Dr. Wyche's Yellow - Productive, beautiful, huge, sweet, tropical, meaty and juicy - it's an amazing tomato that does almost everything right. It has become a staple. Will grow again in 2018.

    2. Brandy Boy - The flavor is what I expected - very balanced, complex, sweet and meaty. Not as productive as I hoped for (Stump of the World remains my favorite pink beefsteak of all time), but a great variety nonetheless. Will grow again, but not in 2018.

    3. Aker's West Virginia - Had a late start in the garden (planted early June), but once it got going, holy smokes. Huge red beefsteaks with amazing flavor, tons of flesh and almost no core at all. Many fruit over a pound. One of the more productive large varieties this season. On the tentative list for 2018.

    4. Burcham's New Generation - See TCA at #5 below. Very similar characteristics, but a bit more productive. Flavor is balanced and delicious. I will grow this one again, but not in 2018.

    5. Todd County Amish - Gigantic pink beefsteaks, smooth skin and meaty flesh. Very flavorful with little gel, but the least productive beefsteak I grew this season. Will grow again, but not in 2018.

    6. Cream Sausage - Third season growing, third season loving. It is my partner's favorite tomato. Very mild, balanced flavor and very prolific. Makes the most gorgeous sauce with its pale creamy yellow flesh and looks amazing canned in the pantry. Most certainly on the list for 2018.

    7. Heatherington Pink - Nearly perfectly shaped, huge round light pink beefsteaks. Very meaty with little juice. Reminds me very much of 1884 (which I will be growing again in 2018), but lighter in color. On the tentative plans for 2018.

    8. Hartsack Yellow - Very nice balanced flavor with sweet notes at the forefront and some acid following closely behind. Gorgeous yellow/orange with red striations. Meaty and juicy, moderately productive. Will grow again, but not in 2018.

    9. Aussie - Great true tomato flavor, huge fluted fruits with moderate productivity and gorgeous bright red skins. Had issues with shoulders ripening fully and many fruit had large cores. Will grow again in 2018.

    10. Green Moldovan - Surprisingly good/sweet flavor given its color when fully ripe (dark green with light yellow tinge at blossom end). Like most of these types, extremely juicy with short shelf life. Ridiculously productive and makes for very interesting conversation when canned. Will grow again in 2018.

    11. Woodle Orange - Amazing, true deep orange tomato with sweet delicious flesh. Extremely meaty, baseball-sized fruit. Least productive plant overall in my garden this season (only 8 fruit). Will grow again to see if I can get better production, but likely not in 2018.

    12. TIE: Bush Early Girl/Paragon - Very similar fruit, about baseball-size with nice bright red color and almost zero blemishes or flaws at all. Both varieties are very productive and perfect sandwich slicers, but also make wonderful tomato products. Very good all-purpose with good balance of sweet/acid. BEG is on the list for 2018, Paragon is tentative.

    13. Urbanite - I believe I received some incorrect seed, as it grew as a heart-shaped tomato for me, which Urbanite is not supposed to be. Regardless, this was a nice surprise and a very good pink heart tomato with excellent flavor and meaty interior. Somewhat wispy initial growth that filled in nicely as the season progressed. Will try to grow again hoping for true seed, but not in 2018.

    14. Krasnodar Titans - My absolute favorite for various canning applications, fresh pico and salsa because of its thick skin and fully meaty flesh with little juice. Keeps easily for a week or longer on the counter when ripe because of thick skins. Fruits are rather inconsistent in size (2-14oz), but very productive and tidy. Will be growing several in 2018.

    15. Yaqui - A very productive, large Roma-style paste tomato with good flavor. This is a perfect canning tomato as it contains almost zero juice and is very fleshy, much like KT but generally smaller. Thicker skin allows longer shelf life; about a week, but probably even longer. Very prone to BER (the only variety in my garden to get it the last two seasons). Will grow again in 2018.

    16. Cuostralee - I think I have seeds for the correct variety, because the fruit looked right, but were very small based on product descriptions online. Quite flavorful, but forgettable in general and not among my favorite. I have read this is an excellent variety, so I will try again. It's tentative for 2018.

    17. Red Rocket - See notes above at #12 on BEG/Paragon - a moderately productive, gorgeous, red medium-sized slicer with balanced flavor and little drama, but flavor is not as memorable as those above. I'll keep the seeds around, but it is not on the list for 2018.

    18. Tatar of Mongolistan - I believe I received incorrect seed, as it was much smaller, less productive and didn't fit the proper physical description. With that said, flavor was perfectly fine for salads and various other dishes, but it didn't win me over. I'll keep the seed and hope to rule it out some time, but I won't grow in 2018.

    19. Box Car Willie - See TOM at #18 above - basically the same thoughts. It was a highly productive golf-ball sized fruit with good flavor, but was not BCW. Will grow again to rule out issues with seed, but it is not on the list for 2018.

    Shule, as you mentioned above, making these lists is challenging because so many variables go into what makes a tomato someone's favorite. I lean toward the large, heirloom beefsteaks because they're not only among the most flavorful, but they're fun to show off, make amazing tomato products and are often just as productive. Of course, you only need 1/3 the number of fruit as smaller determinate types to make the same volume of product, so there you go.

    I truly had zero spitters in the garden this season, but made good notes as I went along, so I feel my list is accurate for my personal tastes and experiences. We all know we could grow the same varieties next season and have completely opposite results. :)

    I hope others will share their lists and faves, too. My season officially ended this morning with a hard freeze (23º), so now I will be reading forums all winter just waiting for next spring to come around to start it all over again.

  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Tomato Belladona F1 best hybrid ever

    http://proplant.gr/sporofyta/tomato_belladona/

  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    nbm1981 Thanks for the nice list and descriptions! I've grown a few of those (Aussie, Cuostralee, and Red Rocket). I grew Aussie last year and this year; it did well last year (until Tim's Black Ruffles smothered it kind of early on), and it tasted good. My saved seeds may have been cross-pollinated by Tim's Black Ruffles. Aussie didn't do much for me, this year, but it didn't have as much light, and it wasn't watered as much. Red Rocket (2017) didn't perform as described for me. It was later, and I'm not sure that the fruits were as large. Cuostralee (2016) was late (it's kind of supposed to be, though), but it did well, and tasted decent (I liked it for sauce). It was my largest-fruited variety out of about a hundred, last year. I would have grown it this year, but I limited my later tomatoes.

    I should note that although I haven't grown Dr. Wyche's Yellow, I have grown Sweet Ozark Orange twice (2016 and 2017), which is a descendant of it and German Red Strawberry. It's earlier than Cuostralee, but still kind of late. It's prolific with decent taste. It can get enormous tomatoes, too (but most are probably just over a pound). It's interesting how the fruits get big whether you water it a lot or not.

  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    amon62 I had to look that up to find more information since I don't speak the language. Looks like it's supposed to be an early, prolific, vigorous, pink storage/shipping tomato that can grow in difficult conditions. I wonder if it'll come to the USA. What's your experience with it?

  • PRO
    9 years ago

    Only grew a few kinds this year.

    Dwarf Wild Fred- he is always a family fave in the black family. Uneven rains and watering led to more cracking than usual.

    A pair of Romans- Candle and Flame.

    Candle was a dense slow maturing to it's golden stage. Great for meaty add to sauces and pastes, and soaking up smoker action prior to dehydrating. Sucked for fresh eating. Skins were tough, great for freeze peeling. And blushed fruits stand up really well to fresh storage. They take a long time to form and mature to the earliest mature stage.

    Flame was a goodly juicy heart of red and yellow streaked outside and beefy juicy meaty inside. It was tomato, and deep. Great in fresh, drying, and cooking up. Not prone to cracking... one that will be grown again.

    Pink Bumblebee. Nice and meh.. I've had tastier, nicer skinned, heaver cropped..

    Sweet Pea Currant. Outstanding flavor and a delightful lacy small growth habit. I can understand why markets charge outstanding prices- they are sparse.


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