Favorite Heirloom Tomato varieties?

[GardenBlooms22]

I'll keep an eye out for the Black Vernissage tomato, it sounds really cool!

Have any of you tried the Kellog's Breakfast Tomato?? Apparently it's a bright orange beefsteak! We recently received some of its seeds in the mail!

 

[SarahLadd]

San Marzano and Indigo Rose. The San Marzano are my absolute favorite for sauce, but combining them with Indigo Rose it makes for a very creamy sauce that is perfect for Penne Alla Vodka.
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I purchased San Marzano seeds this year and opted for some other varieties instead. I have a friend I told about this and he swore up and down that the tomatoes wouldn't be the same as the ones from italy as the special taste of these fruits has something to do with the italian soil they're grown in. Is this hogwash? He was making me think if I grew them, they'd be bland.

My personal favorite tomato for my area (Zone 4b) is Jet Star. it's not very resistant to septoria which is not great. But I deal with it because the fruits have the most incredible flavor. I have made pizza sauce and soup with them, that's absolutely unreal, the kind of flavor that gives you fever dreams on a random tuesday in January. Research says this tomato was developed in 1968. That means it is technically, not an heirloom. But it is the tomato I will continue to choose.

I chose another tomato variety called Brandywine to try this year. I have yet to harvest any so I will need to report with results. This tomato *is* heirloom.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

I purchased San Marzano seeds this year and opted for some other varieties instead. I have a friend I told about this and he swore up and down that the tomatoes wouldn't be the same as the ones from italy as the special taste of these fruits has something to do with the italian soil they're grown in. Is this hogwash? He was making me think if I grew them, they'd be bland.

My personal favorite tomato for my area (Zone 4b) is Jet Star. it's not very resistant to septoria which is not great. But I deal with it because the fruits have the most incredible flavor. I have made pizza sauce and soup with them, that's absolutely unreal, the kind of flavor that gives you fever dreams on a random tuesday in January. Research says this tomato was developed in 1968. That means it is technically, not an heirloom. But it is the tomato I will continue to choose.

I chose another tomato variety called Brandywine to try this year. I have yet to harvest any so I will need to report with results. This tomato *is* heirloom.

My San Marzano tomatoes were very flavorful and turned out beautifully. I have used them to make everything from pizza sauces, bolognase and bruschetta to tomato bases for red curries. Everyone including my sister-in-law (she is a classically trained chef) said they were some of the best dishes they have ever had. Now I have eaten at some of the top restaurants in the country who overnight ship fresh tomatoes everyday from Italy. I completely agree with your friend that Italians have the best tomatoes! Their mineral rich soil definitely is borderline magical for growing delicious produce. However, the San Marzano's from my garden so far have been the best comparable tomatoes that I have tried and everyone who has tasted them has agreed. I will never claim that they are as good as actual Italian grown tomatoes, but second best is alright with me I will also add that I live right next to a river and we have some of the best quality loamy soil in the US which may be why my San Marzano's are flavorful instead of being bland. If you already have the seeds I would definitely recommend growing a plant or two next year. If they don't turn out then you will know that they don't work with your soil and if they do you will have some amazing tomatoes.

 

[SarahLadd]

My San Marzano tomatoes were very flavorful and turned out beautifully. I have used them to make everything from pizza sauces, bolognase and bruschetta to tomato bases for red curries. Everyone including my sister-in-law (she is a classically trained chef) said they were some of the best dishes they have ever had. Now I have eaten at some of the top restaurants in the country who overnight ship fresh tomatoes everyday from Italy. I completely agree with your friend that Italians have the best tomatoes! Their mineral rich soil definitely is borderline magical for growing delicious produce. However, the San Marzano's from my garden so far have been the best comparable tomatoes that I have tried and everyone who has tasted them has agreed. I will never claim that they are as good as actual Italian grown tomatoes, but second best is alright with me I will also add that I live right next to a river and we have some of the best quality loamy soil in the US which may be why my San Marzano's are flavorful instead of being bland. If you already have the seeds I would definitely recommend growing a plant or two next year. If they don't turn out then you will know that they don't work with your soil and if they do you will have some amazing tomatoes.

Interesting! I'm not sure that I would have the same results. I'm not sure it would hurt to try? I grow in raised beds with garden soil from the city composting site, mixed with my own well rotted composting. I am relatively new to gardening, this would be my third year growing tomatoes. I have a lot to learn

 

[HollowOfWisps]

Interesting! I'm not sure that I would have the same results. I'm not sure it would hurt to try? I grow in raised beds with garden soil from the city composting site, mixed with my own well rotted composting. I am relatively new to gardening, this would be my third year growing tomatoes. I have a lot to learn

You might have already heard of it, but if you search your local Craigslist Farm and Garden section you can often find a farm or two selling "Black Soil" (some will even let you bring your own buckets to fill up). Black Soil is very nutrient rich soil with a lot of minerals tomatoes love!

 

[Chicken Heel]

Not much I enjoy more in this life than a fresh Cherokee Purple tomato slice on white bread with some Duke's mayonaise.

 

[GardenBlooms22]

Not much I enjoy more in this life than a fresh Cherokee Purple tomato slice on white bread with some Duke's mayonaise.

Cherokee Purple was definitely one of my favorite tomato varieties this year. Such a deep, savory flavor! I have yet to try another quite like it.

 

[GardenBlooms22]

I purchased San Marzano seeds this year and opted for some other varieties instead. I have a friend I told about this and he swore up and down that the tomatoes wouldn't be the same as the ones from italy as the special taste of these fruits has something to do with the italian soil they're grown in. Is this hogwash? He was making me think if I grew them, they'd be bland.

I've heard that rainfall, and otherwise watering, has a lot to do with the flavor of the tomatoes you grow. If the tomato plants are over-watered then the tomatoes they yield will have a bland flavor. The excess water overpowers the concentration of the flavor in the tomatoes.

Additionally, if a tomato plant is going through a 'drought', and then suddenly gets poured on, then the tomatoes it holds will likely split.

It would seem logical that the nutritional value of the soil and the overall growing climate in Italy would affect the flavor of the tomatoes.

 

[GardenBlooms22]

My personal favorite tomato for my area (Zone 4b) is Jet Star. it's not very resistant to septoria which is not great. But I deal with it because the fruits have the most incredible flavor. I have made pizza sauce and soup with them, that's absolutely unreal, the kind of flavor that gives you fever dreams on a random tuesday in January. Research says this tomato was developed in 1968. That means it is technically, not an heirloom. But it is the tomato I will continue to choose.

I've never heard of the Jet Star tomato, I'll keep it mind.

 

[GardenBlooms22]

Has anyone here grown the Pineapple Tomato?