I don't know about flavor (actually haven't had a really good, eyes-roll-back-in-the-head tomato yet this season) but for sheer beauty I like the red zebras. I'll get some of these and the greens and others and actually compare taste. Getting them at the same level of ripeness might be a challenge.

I didn't know there were red ones. The combo of red and green in my blue tomato bowl would be smashing don't you think?

What I found very cool about these was how thin the skin was. I doubt you could peel them if you tried.

I grew Brandywine this year and they are wonderful! A very meaty tomato with little seeds. Fantastic with BLT's.

Yes, love the Brandywines but I'm still a little hung up about the color. My mind just tells me they're bruised.

Toddled over to the main office today to drop off a poster and what should I see but a big flat of various heirloom tomatoes some generous gardener was sharing. I picked up a small handful: a red zebra, a yellow one that may be a cream sausage or a roman candle and a 2" orange one that I have no idea what it is (got the possible names for the yellow one from the Seed Savers site.) Tonight I will do a side-by-side taste test of them and report back.

Kev, I love the idea of your blue bowl of red and green zebras. My tomato bowl is an unassuming turned wood salad bowl that's gone oblong after many years.

Clara - Yes, I see those at the market all the time, but the folks selling them want just outrageous prices for them. I'll keep checking though. Sometimes I think the people selling at the market think we city folk will pay anything for their stuff just because it didn't come from the supermarket.

Shady - Please do report back. I need to know about all those little, odd ones. Agree about the color of Brandywine. It kind of reminds me of blood gone bad. Find a good bowl for all the beautiful veggies available right now. It's worth it. I like looking at them as much as eating them.

At this time of year, why on earth do the supermarkets still ship their tomatoes from CA?

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Above you should see the fruits in question. For a sense of scale, the two round ones are just under two inches in diameter each. Testing consisted of serving them at room temperature (of course!) sliced with a light sprinkling of salt.

The yellow one had the least flavor and a medium firm skin. With only two large seed chambers it would have been easy to seed for whatever purpose. Although it was ripe, I found it sort of "green" tasting and lacking in what I would call true tomato flavor. For what purpose it was developed, I don't know. Perhaps it's especially good for pickling or salads.

The orange one was quite tasty and interesting. The flavor was tomatoey but had a faint undertone of squash. Really. And there was a distinct but not unpleasant "oily" mouth feel to the flesh. It wasn't overly sweet and the skin was very thin, splitting readily when I cut out the stem end yet it was by no means overripe.

The red zebra was my hands-down favorite. While the skin was the firmest and a little too resistant when chewed, the flavor was, of the three, the one that most spoke of hot August summers in the Midwest. It was clean, sweet and fresh tasting. As you can see the pulp chambers are small and irregular but the high amount of flesh to pulp would probably relieve you from the work of seeding them for whatever purpose. This baby is delicious and I would imagine the thicker skin would make it amenable to transport as farmer's market produce. I now need to get my hands on the green zebras to see how they compare.

Russian Black is my favorite. I used to grow Brandywines but the Black is sweeter IMO. (Some folks say it's too sweet, not enough acid... heh.)

OMG pictures and everything!! Wonderful! Thank you!

You know, I've never been able to get past the color of yellow tomatoes. It just ain't right. Green is OK, but the yellow ones just don't do anything for me and the color probably influences my opinion of their taste.

It surprises me the red Zebras had a thicker skin. That was the first thing I noticed about the green ones - almost no skin at all. I must find some of these reds now. They sure are purdy too.

rita - I'll look for the black ones too. Right now tomatoes are kind of taking the place of a lot of the fruit I regularly eat, so something sweeter would be OK.

K

That's it, i'm ordering seeds for next year.

Those are too interesting.

I can't find any of the black and red zebras. Those and the green ones. That's what i want.

I just thought of this. I have a Polish neighbor (she actually immigrated here from Poland) who grows these monster tomatoes from seeds brought with her from the old country. She gave me some a couple of years ago and they were wonderful. Those suckers weighed over 2 lbs each. I think I need to pay her a visit.

K

That's the very heart of seed saving. You're lucky to know her and it's great that she's got a cultivar from the homeland. If you ever need me to taste test any yummy produce again I'll be glad to do it :)

I wish I could have a vegetable garden. There are drawbacks to being a shady character.

As an aside: maintaining old, unique varieties of foods isn't limited to plants, there are many people dedicated to propagating and preserving some really special and rare livestock as well.

THAT'S hitting close to home--though I have never thought of myself as livestock before!!! Hmmmmm........!

(Does one of a kind qualify as "Special and Rare"?)

Well, I found 2 vendors at the FM that had a lot of different varieties of heirlooms. Unfortunately they wanted between $4-6 for just a few. The Red Zebras were 6 tomatoes for $4. I guess I have to grow my own next year.

That seems a little pricey. The ones I got this morning were $1.75 a pound.

Below is what I was up to last weekend and I just now got to sticking the images together. Disclaimer: I'm not a food stylist and I can't get color right with my digital camera. For reference, the plate is really white with a gray rim.

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The Striped German (upper right) was very fleshy. I used if for a chorizo stuffed tomato but that wasn't the best application. Despite the low volumes of seeds and pulp to flesh, the chambers were located near the skin and the outer layer of flesh was thin making for a weak cup for stuffing. The raw flavor was medium sweet and quite good.

The Green Zebra was eaten raw with salt. Like the red I found the skin firm but not rubbery like the grocery store brands and just danged pretty to look at! The flavor was good, not as acid as a green tomato seems like it ought to be.

Cherokee purple (at 12 o'clock on the plate) was well balanced in sweet and acid and with a color that's amazing. The flavor was good but hard to describe. Almost buttery?

Oxheart (probably actually Yellow Oxheart, 9 o'clock on the plate) was more acid and had a good flavor despite being a yellow variety. Lots of flesh, less pulp.

Taxi (3 o'clock on the plate) was not as flavorful as the Oxheart but still much better than that long yellow one I tasted farther up this page. Has a pretty high amount of pulp to flesh.

Red Zebra was included here just because it's so pretty.

Tonight my dinner is going to consist of at least one whole Cherokee Purple. The weather today was really beautiful and I've been energized all day by a really great yoga class this morning. But there's a coolness in the air even though it's still August. And the sun seems like it wants to go down just a little sooner than I'd like. The primal urge is to stuff my cheeks with tomatoes and sweet corn and live in the moment of incomparable seasonal local produce.

It's warm today - low 80's, but the sun just doesn't have the punch it did a month ago. I think late August - mid September is my favorite time of year just because I love the bounty so much. Going down to the FM early on a Saturday morning is almost a religious experience for me. Bushels and bushels of everything - the colors and smells. It's kind of unfortunate I just don't have the urge to cook very many things at this time of year. That will come in October when everything is coming to an end.

Melons, peppers and tomatoes are my current favorites. We're lucky to have a local grower who has some very out of the ordinary melons. They're very pricey, but well worth it. If you ever get a chance to try a coconut melon, do it. Now if I just could convince myself to shell out the $ for those tomatoes. I probably will at some point.

Your pictures and descriptions are wonderful. Thanks for putting that little review together. I've noticed many of the heirlooms are very oddly colored. I wonder if that's one of the reasons why more people don't grow them? They're really beautiful, but not in a traditional tomato way.

Corn on the cob is on the menu tonight. I made a huge mistake last week of buying some at the grocery store. No flavor, of course. Got some good stuff yesterday from my regular vendor. I know it will be good.

Hi Folks:
Checking in late, I know...but I've been canning those tomatoes, etc. etc.
My can't do without varieties: Rose (from Johnny's Selected seeds - I've been saving mine for years) Persimmon, Lithuanian Crested Pink (an oxheart), Amish Paste and Polish Linguisa. And a new darling "Ananas Noir" ugly thing looking the same color as a black and blue mark after it's started to turn green and yellow. Sliced open, it's a deep rose pink with fruitiness...mmm.
Best dressing for any of these dense fruity types is
mayo/sour cream mixed 50/50, fine diced onions and dill, salt and pepper thinned a little with olive oil and a dash of lemon juice.

Back under my rock
Maryanne in WMass

Sadly, it's like I can see the end from here, but that hasn't stopped me from enjoying. Saturday was our block party (I love my neighbors and feel really fortunate to be where I am) so for my "dish to pass" I brought a big plate of various sliced HTs. Red, Purple, Green, Gold, Carmine (really, it's not quite red) I fanned them out on the plate with some cukes and red bells. Beautiful, delicious and almost no leftovers. Then this morning--6:15 to be exact--I started peeling ten pounds of vine-ripened organics to make the tomato chutney I've decided is going to replace ketchup in our home. By 12:30 I was sealing the jars and getting ready to go watch the marathon portion of the Ford Iron Man® thingy. Then, just now, I used my last green zebra and Cherokee Purple in a tasty baked egg dish adapted from one of my favorite hangover recipes. No, I don't have a hangover this chilly Sunday evening, but I don't mind faking it to get a hot ramekin of seasonal Solanum lycopersicum love.

So, um, Kevin - did you visit that Polish neighbor? Can you trade me some of the giant tomato seeds? Please?

Hope to read you soon
Cheers!
Maryanne in WMass

Maryanne

Sorry, I haven't connected with her, but if I do get seeds I'll certainly send you some.

K

Hi Kevin et cal;
aw shucks.
Well, I can't complain, I have more tomatoes than any sane person needs. Canning 1 or 2 batches a week - good thing spouse helps :-)
Cheers
Maryanne

Yesterday's heirlooms were the last ones from my favorite grower :(

Grow 'em inside. I've already got about six different types started in pots. I'll move them inside when it starts getting cooler and have tomatoes all winter.

Last year I gave some out with my Christmas presents and people were beside themselves, so I decided to have some more unusual varieties to go along with the standard red this year.

Someone gave me a giant white tomato that was excellent, so I'll see how those turn out from seed. It was absolutely snow white, not too big, and really tasty.

I think tomato season here is going down hill fast. It was that rotten hard freeze we had in a much of the outlying areas. It seems so cruel to have the temps go that low only one night and then back up into the 80's after that.

I noticed the heirloom tomato people at the FM seemed to be selling only cherry sized tomatoes now.

Here is a pick from my garden harvest a couple of days ago...
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I have to say that I've been most impressed by my Cherokee Purples and the Yellow Pears, both of which have excellent flavor. The Yellow Pears have been just perfect, and I grew them from seed. The cherokees are also lovely, though it was a transplant. My red tomatoes are wonderful as well (cherry, better boy, tumbling toms), but I really get a kick out of the heirlooms.

Gold Medal has done... questionably. HUGE plant, just set fruit... 5. 3 got blossom rot. I would think that it was the soil, but they are planted right next to a Green Zebra tomato that has done quite well.

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Next year I'm trying "Banana Legs", a yellow paste tomato and "White Wonder", an all white, supposedly beefsteak-type. I can't wait!!!

Here is a link that might be useful: my link

Two years ago, I planted one Yellow Pear plant in the garden... it grew into quite the tree, completely covering and devouring the tomato cage I put over it! It produced thousands of deliciously mild yellow pear tomatoes! Two years later, I'm still pulling volunteer yellow pear tomato plants out of all the perennial gardens!

Last year, we planted a large variety of tomatoes, both starts and from seed... and we had lots of wonderful, tasty tomatoes! This year, we decided to tone down the amount of plants we put in, so we planted a couple of early varieties, a few heirlooms, a beefsteak for slicing, and a couple of cherry and grape plants.

Our weather has been such that we're just now beginning to harvest from a couple of the plants... I'm not impressed by this year's harvest, flavors or plant growth!

Next year, I'm ordering and planting from the company in the link below... they have some really interesting varieties! A friend in Florida gave me the link... she orders every year, and is impressed.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tomato Growers Supply Company

jodik,
Thanks for the link. THAT is the greatest help for me. A source for the future!!

Now? Off to pick peaches, y'all!

--Stitz--

No problem! Gardening is for sharing!

I haven't even looked through the entire website yet, but take a look at those white tomatoes! Wowwee! Don't those look cool?!

I'm amazed at the variety they have to offer!

Here's a yummy way of using up all those extra tomatoes. "Shakshuka" is a sort of breakfast or light supper dish, consisting of eggs poached in a thick, spicy tomato sauce. It originated in North Africa ( Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia) and has become part of the local folk culture. There are as many variations as there are cooks (lol). Here's mine:

SHAKSHUKA
4 large juicy tomatoes
1 large onion, chopped
1 sweet red pepper (bell pepper?)
2 cloves garlic (optional)
4 eggs
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste.
(we like our food hot and spicy, so I add 1/2 teaspoonful of "Arissa" - a hot Moroccan condiment, but you can use a few drops of Tabasco sauce instead).

Brown onion and garlic in a large skillet. Add chopped up tomatoes and pepper. Cover and simmer until vegetables are soft and have produced some liquid.(about 15 minutes) Add salt, pepper and hot condiment, according to taste.
Break eggs carefully over the sauce and simmer uncovered for a few minutes, until whites begin to set. Remove from flame, return lid to skillet, and set aside for a few more minutes.
Serve with plenty of fresh white bread to sop up the sauce.
Serves four.

That sounds really good! Thank you for sharing your recipe!

That sounds so good! I may make it for dinner with the multicolored tomatoes I have right now.

Jodi, Shady,
Try it! You won't regret. You can make it as mild or as spicy as you like. You can also add sliced sausage to the sauce - Moroccan "merghez" works very well, if you want to go completely ethnic.
Just a word of caution - seeing that I don't know how much liquid the tomatoes will produce, you may have to add some water while the sauce is cooking. I rely on your cooking skills!
Enjoy!
Judy

Thank you, Judy... for the tips AND the recipe! It sounds delicious! I know my husband wouldn't like it... he doesn't like tomatoes or spicy, but I'll enjoy it!

I'm not that great of a cook, certainly no chef, but the recipe sounds easy enough, and it contains healthy ingredients, all of which I like!

Thanks, again!

Tomatoes

plate
sharp knife
fork
salt

I'm simple. Ask anyone who knows me! :-)

--Stitz--

That's waaaayyy too complicated.

Walk out back door
Head over to tomato plant
Pick one
Stuff in mouth and chew
(I feel no need for salt on anything, so I skip that step)

I'm supposed to CHEW?

Only if you find a bug or two once in the mouth. They kind of wiggle all the way down if you don't.

But they do add that protein that is necessary in a good diet!

Being fairly simple, myself, I like to eat tomatoes fresh off the vine... no knife, plate or salt. Salt is bad for blood pressure, anyway! But it's nice to change it up every once in a while and go a little complicated... I'm thinking of trying that recipe tomorrow, and I might even chew!