Tomato Tasting -- compare and share

[applestar]

Had the giant triple fused Wes last night

Had the giant triple fused Wes last night and two regular sized Wes that developed green shoulders this morning. I waited until the green shoulders had turned to dark yellow and there was almost soft give when held since Wes is said to be best eaten when somewhat overripe.
[...]

***** correction *****

I'm beginning to suspect that the green shouldered fruits I had this mrning are Amos Coli. If so, they had a more intense flavor and somewhat more open seed cavities than the Wes from last night.

We had fully ripened Wes and Soldacki tonight.

We had fully ripened Wes and Soldacki tonight.
It was a split decision between two judges -- DH and DD.... DD liked Wes better though she liked Soldacki as well, but DH preferred Soldacki for the sweeter flavor and declined to eat the less fully ripened upper half and shoulder portion of Wes. I think Wes has more of the full tomato flavor including the tangy finish, and agree that Soldacki presents with sweeter burst at first bite. It does not disappoint and carries through with strong finish though not as tangy as Wes.

~~~

As you can see, Wes is a returning favorite. We had a slightly overripe one and a smaller one that would have been considered fully ripe if it was any other tomato. (I forgot to take a picture of the smaller fruit)

Fully softened, ripe Wes

It was as good as we remembered it. The slightly overripe one had the better, rich flavor. The smaller fruit had a bit of green shoulder-turned-dark yellow. Both had lots of juice. I think I'll plant more of this variety next year and use for juice, sauce, etc.

[applestar]

Didn't take pictures but we had a repeat of Neves Azorian Red vs. pink (clear epi) Royal Hillbillie at lunch today.

Again, Royal Hillbillie received the first taste approval -- SWEET! Funny thing is I was trying to analyze the flavor profile and felt there was "something" missing in the RH and wondered if it was acidity, then after three pieces the built up acidity of the RH was burning my mouth! Very sweet, then a bit of a blank, then lingering acid.

When I tasted the NAR, I thought "salty!" -- that's what's missing from the RH. Compared to RH's sweetness, NAR was definitely "savory" with that classic tomato flavor and lingering acid finish. I would not say RH was inferior, because the sweetness was such a pleasure, and you don't exactly miss the saltiness, just that question "what am I NOT tasting in this tomato" and that is the tomato-ness.

I saw that even though DD initially insisted that she preferred the RH and happily ate the last piece that she had been saving for me when I insisted, she had finished the 4-5 1/2 wedges of NAR left in the plate when I checked later.

Older DD said if RH is sweet and acid and NAR is salty/tangy and acid, maybe crossing them would produce an offspring with full flavored fruit.

...for dinner we had THE BIG TERHUNE

The slices from the middle were bigger than the hamburgers or the the buns and we had 1/2 wedges from the bottom half and some pieces cut from around the shoulders. OMG

Let's just say we don't have to try to make that cross. It's already here. SWEET (check!) SALTY (check!) TANGY (check!) CLASSIC TOMATO FLAVOR (check!) LINGERING ACID (check!).
Oh so yum! Lots and lots of UMAMI

I am thinking next year, I'm just going to plant the favorites that have been identified so far.
I'm envisioning Terhune all along one side of a CRW panel trellis where I have 4 different varieties planted. From the beginning. I'll try to train them into espalier like form with side suckers trained at horizontal along the panel to maximize production as I conjectured in the Topping Tomato thread.

I had chatted about my "plan" while eating, and then I saw DH carefully saving the Terhune seeds but I told him he didn't have to save every single seed But he still tried to save a lot -- which as you may know is taking away from the full taste experience because a lot of the flavor is in the gel. In fact he told DD to finish the rest of the pieces but that *she* DIDN'T have to save the seeds because I had enough already. I did give him a strainer so he could strain out the seeds from all the gel/juice and drink it. I wonder how many plants I would have to grow to make enough Terhune tomato juice....

[Lindsaylew82]

I'm gonna have to try Terhune next year!

[applestar]

We tasted Maglia Rosa yesterday. It's an unusual looking pink striped, elongated cherry (like mini sausage) fruit with a point. I have it growing in a 3 gal container on the patio this summer.
This was my first year growing it and I really didn't know what to expect, but the plant is staying compact and the fruits are very sweet with a tangy after taste. Very yummy.

My parents who think tomatoes should be red and round liked it, and DD liked it for the sweetness. I'm glad I started this variety for my Winter Indoor Tomatoes along with my off-type Sweet n Neat Pink. I want to compare them for flavor.

I should have taken a picture when I had a wooden berry basketful of the fruits
...but the plant has some new fruit trusses growing, so we'll have more soon.

I was holding off of this review because I wanted to compare Maglia Rosa against Blush which is a similar looking elongated cherry with a point but yellow striped, but my Blush has been struggling with russet mite infestation and hasn't been able to produce a decent fruit to taste. I understand Blush tends to be a bigger plant though, and not as suited to small container growing. It seems be growing a new uninfested growth, so if I can, I'll post a comparison of the two later on.

[Juliuskitty]

Apple, what a fabulous description of Terhune. Because of you, it will be sown with the rest of my seeds TOMORROW!!! Yay! Can't wait, Can't wait,Can't wait!

[digitS']

Coyote cherries! I have decided I like these tiny guys.

Usually, I'm not delighted to pick 'n' pick 'n' pick and after 20 minutes still only have a handful. Tasting just one Coyote tomato, however, will give you an idea of what you are in for!

The tiny things have an incredible amount of flavor and sweetness. If you are one of those people who claim that Sungold is bland, you should give Coyote a try.

Steve

[applestar]

I'm so glad you liked them!

They are pretty early and are great hardy ramblers. I find just removing any septoria leaves does the trick to keep them healthy and they'll replace the lost leaves right away. Only issue I tend to have with them is that the tomato leafminer moth seems to PREFERENTIALLY infest Coyote leaves, so those too, get snipped off. It's possible the "wild"/currant foliage (distinct rounded seedling first true leaves) are closer to their native food.

They are great in cooler weather and seem to renew growth with vigor when fall weather arrives. I have tons of blossoms on mine right now.

What doesn't get eaten in a day or two, I take the calyx off and freeze like little marbles.

[digitS']

The person in this house who first saved a Coyote seed was DW.

I think it's really cute because she has never done that before. Oh, she's a gardener but saving tomato seed is my interest, AppleStar. In fact, there are lots of tomatoes she doesn't like.

I go into the kitchen and there is this seed in the window above the sink. This was about 6 weeks ago. I got it labeled and out on the deck where there is about 15% humidity every afternoon .

Steve

[Mr green]

Thanks for this thread! Have read it all and made some interesting finds.

Terhune sounds like an interesting variety, anyone grew it in the colder regions? Also Applestar did you grow Pink Brandywine? I read on Tatiana's tomato site that its suspected to be the same by some growers, would be cool to hear your input if you tried them both, you seem like the tomato connoisseur of this forum!

I do like sungold, but yellow tomatoes I have tried hase been to much flavorless like storebought tomatoes in general, however I count sungold as something in between being orange. So the Coyote Cherries sounds like something for me to try out! Sungold is my Fiancees favourites so far.

Usually you can just move on and try another kind of you don't like it. There was one that made me more dissapointed than anyother tho being so prolific and high yealding, Banana Legs its sweet but lacks everything else that makes a tomato a tomato.

[digitS']

Reading my responses in this thread makes me think that I could write a book on my tomato experiences titled, "Tossing Big Green Tomatoes."

Ripening on my counter isn't my favorite way to enjoy tomatoes. Maybe things have changed. My counter wasn't overburdened following the 2016 first frost. Still, I'm reluctant to make too much commitment based on one year with record breaking summer heat.

I've been tempted into growing Brandywine OTV, again. The 2013 season was the one and only time I have grown it. It is a "red Brandywine," actually - a Brandywine cross. It was a fine tomato but late September ripening means that I won't commit more garden space than one plant will require. Perhaps AppleStar and others with Brandywine experience will comment but my commitment cannot be with such late ripening fruit, Mr. Green.

Gary O Sena is a result of a deliberate Brandywine cross. My four, 2016 plants took full advantage of the unusual summer. I'll likely keep several of the Gary O Sena currently in my greenhouse, for this year's garden. It's becoming a standard for me .

I'm lucky that smaller, earlier tomato varieties please me. There have been other reasons for me to toss some of the big, late varieties. However, the longer they take to mature fruit, the greater the risk of problems.

Steve

[Lindsaylew82]

There will always be room for the beandywines in my garden. Yellow and pink are my favorites. this year we have red, yellow, and pink! I've found growing the plants to be a real pain in the hiney. They're finicky, and require pretty much constant attention. They're huge plants that have to be tied frequently, and they're really prone to fungus here. But I find them worth it after the first bite! Once I get the first big fruit, and the temp cool down from scalding hot, to just hot, they usually don't require much work. I've not found them to be any later ripening that most of the others. Yellow Brandywine was my first large tomato from the garden in 2014!

[Mr green]

Thanks both of you for your inputs on Brandywine, its on the list of consideration! Late ripening might be bad for me, but I have read people grown it in Sweden, so it may be done. For sure I wouldnt be likely to try more than one plant tho and see how it goes. Rather regret not sowing enough then regret sowing to many.

The Gary O Sena sounds interesting as well, hows the flesh mushy or more like crisp?
Link with pics of it if someoneelse gets interested: https://tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/Gary%27O_Sena

[Lindsaylew82]

Our first tomatoes are always mushy. I think cooler weather during fruit formation causes it, but thats just my theory. There's no science or fact behind it. The earliest are just always mushy and mealy in texture here. Once they really start rolling in, the texture usually improves for most of the varieties we grow in our garden.

[imafan26]

My taste testers are the birds. If its good they will eat them. If they are are really good, they will eat them green.

[TexasGardenGirl]

It's amazing how many varieties of tomatoes exist that I've never heard of in my life! My dad just grew basic slicing tomatoes. Never knew what variety. I know anything from the grocery store or a restaurant is just plain blah. My grandma always said try one of her garden tomatoes and I'd change my tune but I never would. I was firm on the "eww raw tomatoes are gross" stance. As an adult I realized I don't like the slimy mushy texture of tomatoes. But now, reading this thread I kind of think I must not be trying good tomatoes. So, since it's a bit late in the year to try any of the fun varieties I've seen you guys mention (since the shipping on established plants would take too long and it's too late for seeds I think) Ill give them a go next year. I am gonna grow some tomatoes for sauce and salsa this year (if I can manage to keep darn tomatoes alive in this garden-I'm having junk luck). Thanks so much for this thread! I really want to try to change my opinion on tomatoes now!

[Lindsaylew82]

Apple, where did you pick up Terhune? Was that a Gixx tomato?

Of the 6 newest seedlings, it's the largest! Big plant?

[applestar]

Our fave! Terhune was picked up in a round robin trade, not originally from Gixx. It's not ultimately a big plant -- average indeterminate height of 6 ft or so, but it's a potato leaf which means it soaks up the light and usually is more vigorous as seedling. Some think it's a selection of Brandywine. In the south, some say the PL provides ample shade for the fruits and others have said more tendency to get foliage disease due to heavy foliage cover blocking air flow.

You are growing this from seeds I sent you a couple of years ago? I had a NOT Terhune last year grown from 2014 harvested seeds, so hopefully yours aren't crossed seeds.

[Lindsaylew82]

I am growing from your seed! All 6 kinds!

I've known PL plants to be finicky here... I still grow them though, because the few fruits we get from them are worth the constant attention I've known them to require here!

What did you get instead of Terhune? I'm excited!!!

I started 2 of the Coyote from shared seed! The early one does not have that native tomato foliage, like sweet pea, or MWC. So I started another one. Maybe it's just my growing conditions here? Idk. At any rate, there is a lot of excitement going on with new varieties we've never tried!

Did you ever find Orange Amana seed?

[applestar]

Ha. I just came back to this thread and realized I never answered your questions

The Terhune cross is still trying to grow -- we will see....

I want to say yes I got some Orange Amana seeds, but I have to admit I'm not positive and am too lazy to go check my tomato seeds collection. I hope I did.

...

I got DH to do an impromptu tasting -- in tomato parlance, "white" is the pale to lemon yellow tomato with clear skin/epi. Also, Faelan's First Snow is thought to be a Cherokee Purple sport with variegated foliage. There are some uncertainties about this provenance, but my saved seeds have produced fruits that are very similar to Cherokee Purple each time. There is a tasting and photo somewhere in this thread)

- Started by giving him a ripe Raymondo's Australian Mist -- white largish flattened cherry ... Ripe ones split innthe rinse bucket like Coyote does.
- Coyote is what I gave him to try next -- the small white cherries.
- then I gave him Matt's Wild Cherry to try

---

At this point, he rated them as

Coyote > Raymondo's Australian Mist > Matt's Wild Cherry

---

Then I gave him the white grape cherry MRxCF.F2.1F.P1 (my F2 cross of Maglia Rosa x Coyote+Faelan's First Snow #1F-P1) without telling him what it was-- and he placed it as better than all of the others

But I gave him a few more Coyote to make sure, and he decided Coyote was better after all.



His verdict

Coyote > MRxCF.F2.1F.P1 > Raymondo's Australian Mist > Matt's Wild Cherry

[applestar]

I've been trying to grow different varieties of white beefsteak tomatoes, looking for great flavor and a nice pink blossom end blush. Last year, White Beauty was promising -- one plant had a small pink blush... Not quite as extensive as I wanted. Productive, but medium size fruits. The fruits of the 2nd plant didn't get the blossom end blush, but had a better flavor, which was surprising, but presented me with a dilemma.

I had trouble growing the White Beauty seedlings this spring, but Great White grew very well -- although it suffered TRM infestation like all of my other seedlings, this is one of the survived-and-recovered plants -- and look at the gorgeous pink blush on its bottom when fully ripe ! The color extends into the interior flesh, too.


Now, I don't like "mild" flavored tomatoes. Very often, yellow and white tomatoes are "mild" all around, though good ones are saved by exceptional sweetness. Well, I want that tangy kick and lingering acid burn after good sweet front end and full-flavored middle.

This one was not as sweet in the beginning as I had hoped (but my expectations might have been skewed because I have been eating cherry tomatoes every day), but it had plenty --surprising amount-- of good strong tomato flavor and acid that lingered a bit -- not too much but enough to satisfy.

[applestar]

For comparison, here is what I wrote about White Beauty from last year --

Rampant TRM too is taking its toll. But out of the varieties that did grow well, White Beauty is looking the most like […] in size and shape as well as the ivory white color. No pink blush, though, or so I thought. But one of the two I cut open had this tiny blush.



Both with and without blush tasted really great. But the one without the blush surprisingly was the one with more flavor. I was really expecting the bland tasteless often found in white and yellow flesh, but the front end started out salty and rich, then sweet, with lingering tang and acid. The pink blushed one which I expected to be sweeter was in fact less flavor at front end, then a teensy bit sweeter, and then tang but no acid.

[Lindsaylew82]

We tried White Pink Stripe and White Queen this year.

WPS, and a very noticeable blush at the bottom, and entire midportion of the interior was peach colored. Very pretty. They had pretty good flavor. Low-ER acid. They were mealy though. All of them. It was a very heavy producer, and disease resistant until blight hit.

White queen only gave us 4 tomatoes. Fickle plant, but slightly better flavor. Very little blush, but it had that silky texture I like in a tomato. Not worth it.... Was definitely more acidic. That is likely why I felt it had better flavor.

[KitchenGardener]

Are there conditions that may cause mealiness, like certain weather conditions, or do you attribute it to the variety? I ask because I've not grown mortgage lifter before, and some of the tomatoes have been mealy; I've grown tomatoes for years and this is the first time I've encountered it (okay, well sometimes at the very end of the season, say November-ish, when any self-respecting tomato plant would not still even be growing). So I'm wondering, since we've had extremely abnormally low temps this Summer, whether that could be the cause? Just ruminating here on your thread, lol...

[applestar]

Hmm I don't know for sure, but I usually grow "several" ( ) varieties at a time, so if others are not mealy but one variety is producing mealy fruits, I would attribute it to that particular variety. Remember, too, that sometimes saved seeds don't grow true because of accidental bee crossing, so if only one plant is growing mealy fruits, don't blame on the variety especially if it has a good review/reputation.

I have only encountered mealy fruits on lesser well known and/or new release varieties, or in grocery store hybrids... never highly rated heirlooms.

[Lindsaylew82]

The rest of the tomatoes were not mealy, just these. We had a particularly arid season, so in not sure that I would attribute this mealiness to outside influences. It was planted in an "optimum" spot in the garden that is particularly fertile. I did save seed, and plan on growing them again next year, because they were pretty tasty, and very productive. So we will see if it's a seasonal thing, or a trait that will persist. I'd be happy to share seeds also, if any else would like to experiment!!!

[applestar]

Oh! OH! MEEEEE!!!!

[Lindsaylew82]

Yes ma'am!

[pepperhead212]

I did a taste test on a bunch of my tomatoes on 8-11 with a friend. Many had stopped producing by then, due to the heat, and by now most have been killed by it, but that's when I had the most ripe at once to do a side by side taste test.

The Big Beef and Amish Gold Slicer won out again - he liked the Big Beef better, and I leaned toward the Amish Gold, I think because the only Big Beef one that I knew was a BB (I had a number of earlier picked tomatoes, that I didn't really know what they were), was slightly under-ripe. If it had been dead ripe, I probably would have liked that better.


Next was the Black Beauty. This has a very well balanced tomato flavor, with skin that's not overly thick, yet only some minor splits (the worst because I dropped one!). The flavor reminded me of the Gary O'Sena I grew before, as it was delicious, but milder than the best of the year - after I would sample green zebra that year, the Gary O'Sena tasted mild, as these did after the big beef. The plant is barely hanging on, with some new blossoms, now that it has gotten a little cooler out, but I doubt that I will have many ripen before frost.


The Chestnut Chocolate was very mild - not bad, but not much flavor. And not much production. And both of us noticed the thick skin, which really sounded loud when we chewed it!


The Lucid Gem was productive, though almost like a determinate. 10 ripened almost simultaneously, with 8 more semi-ripe. Unfortunately, the flavor is lacking, not just mild, but an off flavor - we both thought this immediately. So I thought that maybe it was a bad tomato, and went and got one that looked the ripest, and it was pretty much the same. Maybe I'll make some salsa with them - strong flavors might cover up the off flavor, and I hate to waste them! I had high hopes for them, as the color of it looks like that Beauty King I grew last year, but with black shoulders, and that one had the best flavor (I didn't grow it again because of the very large core in them, that I had to cut out).


Others that we sampled were the Sweet Carneros Pink, which was up there with the Black Beauty in flavor, but not as flavorful as the two at the top. Again, it is probably the most productive. That large one - Believe It Or Not - is very mild, despite being dead ripe. The other large one - Tres Contos - has better flavor, but still mild. The Creole and the LA Gulf State had decent flavor - the early ripening and fairly good production make them possible repeats, but they seem to be stopping from this heat (the reason they were given to me - heat resistance), so not sure. The Big Beef and Sweet Carneros Pink are still flowering, though the plants don't look good now, at the end of August..

The small fruited ones, Green Tiger and the Sunrise, we tested last, against the 4 top ones, and they were good - not quite as good as the top two, but stronger in flavor than the next two. The problem is, they were almost totally wiped out by the heat - something that didn't happen the last two mild summers we had here, the only times I had grown them before.

Others that I had earlier in the season, which didn't produce well, were Large Barred Boar, Maglia Rosa, Manalucie, and Royal Hillbilly. Nothing exceptional in flavor, and even if they were, there wasn't enough production to make up for it!

[Gary350]

If your new to gardening and growing tomatoes you should experiment and grow a minimum of 6 different varieties of tomatoes every summer for several years to learn what flavor you like best. For each his own.

40 years ago I experimented with 6 different type tomatoes every summer it took a few years to learn which tomato we like best. We like all the Beefsteak type tomatoes, Beef master, Big beef, Beef steak, Super Star. Everyone can tell you what they like best but that does not mean you will like it too. Beefsteak are large producers, large diameter tomatoes, good flavor, great slicing tomato for sandwiches and hamburgers, great for stew, soup, chili, salads, juice, sauces and canning in mason jars. Big Beef and Beef Master are the BIG PRODUCERS we get 20 lbs of tomatoes every day from 8 plants.

Celebrity tomato have about as much flavor as cardboard. Yellow tomatoes do not taste like tomatoes to me. German Johnson and Brandy wine are very slow producers about 80% less than Big Beef and Beef Master. I tried many heirloom tomatoes flavors are weird like comparing tomatoes to squash or cucumbers. Try it and see for yourself that is the only way to know what tomatoes you like best. If you find something you like then grow them.

My garden is 30'x50' we grow vegetables for the kitchen table and pantry to eat all winter. We want enough vegetables from our garden and pantry so we never have to buy grocery store vegetables.

[applestar]

We had our first indeterminate, big tomato of the season last night - July 25 harvested Mikhalych, ripened on the counter until it couldn't get any redder, shared among the three tomato-lovers in the family.

It was a full-flavored rich tomato. DH stared forlornly at his plate after eating his share and said ..."I need more." So I offered him the "lid" -- top of the tomato sliced off with the stem scar, which I was going to discard -- and asked if he wanted to nibble around the edge, and he said yes.

DD2 had hers in an Italian deli-hamburger. I also offered her a couple of "Buttercream Punch" (Maglia Rosa x Coyote F3-1) -- small white cherry tomatoes -- and she reported that they were "very good". (We are just starting this season's tasting, no doubt taste reviews will get more sophisticated as our palates become re-educated to the nuances of tomato flavors....)

I gave DH 1 each fully ripened Maskotka and Marz Pulcent, which he eagerly accepted -- he's been eating these -- both are determinate container size sprawling plants (good for growing in 11-14" baskets or 2 gallon containers. Fruits are walnut to small egg-sized fat oval. They are both deliciously rich when allowed to ripen fully, thick skinned, probably good canner. I had pan-fried some not fully ripe Maskotka that had skin split from heavy rain, and they were great, replacing my usual ketchup to eat with an omelet.

No pictures today, but there will be later.

[Ksk]

Over the years I have decided that "Super Sweet" is my favorite cherry tomatoes. My family can pick them out with eyes closed.

[applestar]

I can’t believe I didn’t post in this thread last year — the family stuff that took most of my time away must have been more time consuming than I remember after time has softened some of the difficulties.

Bumping the thread to encourage members who are already harvesting their best tomatoes to post and share their tomato tasting results

[pepperhead212]

Last night, I did a taste test, with the few tomatoes I have ripening, so far. I got several larger ones (Burracker's Favorite, Pretty in Pink, and 2 from the unknown"KBX"), but they aren't quite ready yet, they'll have to wait until totally ripe.
Sweet Treats cherry was our favorite, with a balanced, delicious tomato flavor, with some sweetness, but not that much (have grown for 2 years, and wondered about the name from the beginning). Not quite as strong as the next one, but more balance.
Sunset Falls is a small, maybe 2 oz determinate red/orange striped variety that was our second favorite, with a strong tomato flavor, not very sweet or tart, with that "grassy" like flavor that comes on late, and a lingering aftertaste like that. Huge numbers of fruits on the one plant; since it's determinate, if I want to grow it again, maybe it will be in succession plantings.
Green Tiger, an elongated, 1 oz variety, striped like green zebra, was the one I had the most of, and was good, as always, but it's another of those things that tasted milder, after trying the stronger tasting tomato, the Sunset Falls, this time. It was more tart than the others, which is why I use it so much in those lentil salads every year.
Sunsugar As always, a tomato more for just popping, with intense sweetness, but it's still got more tomato flavor than some sweet varieties I've grown in the past.
Giant Garden Paste The only larger one I had that was totally ripe. Strange, as it was juicy, and not at all hollowed out, as I expected. The flavor was good, and balanced, but the mildest of all of them, for sure. And the one most prone to BER, so probably not a keeper, unless something changes.

[applestar]

Bumping this thread again. I hope to contribute to it this year — are any of you tasting tomatoes yet? Post your tomato tasting comparisons and let us know your favorites.

[imafan26]

I also like sunsugar. It is sweet and does not crack as badly as sungold. Sungold is usually not really sweet unless it is ripe.

Brandywine is still the best tasting of all that I have tried, but it is not an easy tomato to grow since it has very little disease resistance and is not the best producer considering how large the plant is.

The second best has been the tiny red current. It is also a very good producer even though it is tedious to harvest the tiny fruit. The vines are a little unruly as well.

I now have tomato yellow leaf curl virus and I have not gotten a successful harvest out of my garden in about 3 years. I am going to try Charger this year. Charger is one of the tomatoes listed as resistant to TYLCV.

[digitS']

Okay, it is too early to have set out my tomato plants. Of course, I haven't tasted any. However, it is fun to look back on earlier posts about what was going on 5 and 6 years ago. I feel as tho not much has changed but I can see that even though my garden will be filled again with tried and true varieties, the lineup evolves over time.

... Bloody Butcher this year. I appreciate that one not only for its early ripening but for having quite a bit of tomato flavor for such an early, little guy....

That appreciation has grown through those 6 years. Terrible Name! DW and I have actually decided that it should have a different name than the one used for this heirloom for the last 60 plus years. What is really remarkable about it is that BB starts so early with so much tomato flavor and then continues producing over the entire season.

I'll have to remove some flowers when they are moved out of their pots into the open garden, soon. It will give the little champion some time to develop before setting fruit

Steve

[pepperhead212]

3 friends and I got together tonight and tasted tomatoes!

Earlier, I went out and harvested a few, as I noted, and here are some photos. The larger one, and also two showing the core in one of the Beefy Boys. I remember this happening on almost every tomato of some varieties in the past - this hard, whitish, core area, that has to be cut out. Hopefully this was just an unusual occurrence.
Big Beef, L, next to the Beefy Boy with the huge core. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Largest so far, a Beefy Boy. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

And here are almost all of the varieties of tomatoes we were going to sample. A couple we didn't remember to include:
Tomatoes L>R Beefy Boy, Goliath Pio, Pretty In Pink, Big Beef, Black Vernisage, Sunset Falls, Unk. 1, Unk 2, Chef's Choice Green, Amish Gold Slicer, Pink Champagne, Black Opal, Jasper, Sprite Grape, Sunsugar, and Cherry Bomb. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

And here's the list, giving my results with growing on some of them, as well.

New (for me)

Larger varieties

Beefy Boy
Good, but not quite as good as Big Beef. And some I have had to cut larger areas of the core out of, than most. Largest tomato of any,s so far - 18.30 oz. Also the first to ripen, in the larger tomatoes.

Chef's Choice F1
This wasn't what the catalog said, thus it's one of my "Unk" varieties. Plum shaped, though not a plum, as it has juice. Good, but it was also one of those that came down with aphids, while most had none.

Chef's Choice Green
This did look like the Chef's choice in the catalog, and ripened green. Nothing spectacular in flavor. Not a keeper.

Goliath Pio
This was the second aphid attracting tomato. It eventually got rid of it, but the plants did not look great afterwards. The flavor wasn't as strong as the Big Beef, but had good tomato flavor, and one taster put this on the top of their list. One of the later larger ones to ripen, but it's finally catching up.

Lime Green Salad
This is a small, under 2 ft. plant, with 3 oz or under fruits. No great flavor, but crispy, even when fully ripe, and no unpleasant flavors. It's a determinate - the other reason it's not a keeper, to me. The seeds were freebies - I guess they were testing them out.

Stupice
Another small plant, with small plum like tomatoes. Flavor not bad, but not productive at all, so not a keeper.


Smaller varieties

Black Opal
This one had good flavor, but would have some develop bad flavor, without being able to tell which ones (spitters!). That, and the plant being prone to some disease, makes it not a keeper, for me.

Cherry Bomb F1
LARGE cherry tomato - ping pong or golf ball sized. Good flavor - not quite as tart as Jasper, but has a well balanced flavor. A little later ripening than other cherries, but still before 7-4. Large numbers of tomatoes. Problem was the yellowing of the plants, next to others having no problems. I'll see how they turn out in the long run.

Jasper F1
These are about a scant inch in diameter, and have a lot of tomatoes on the plants. They ripened before 7-4, but they tend to keep a yellow "shoulder" on the fruits, even when ripened almost a week on the counter. On that note, I never had one go bad on the counter, as many cherries do. The flavor is good, with a tartness, that some didn't like, but I like that, for some things, but not for snacking on.

Pink Champagne F1
This is a pink grape tomato, with a good flavor, but some tasted under-ripe, even when appearing totally ripe. Not a huge plant, and not super productive, so not a keeper, for me.

Sprite
This is a trade seed I got this year, and the tomatoes are better than any grapes I have had or grown before. Strange plant, in that the leaves seemed small and few, with a huge number of tomatoes, and I wondered how such a small number of leaves could support that many fruits! The tomatoes are somewhat sweet, with a slightly tart flavor to go with it, and a good tomato flavor. Everyone liked them, and we all noticed the crispness, even though these had been ripening several days on the counter.


OLD

Larger Varieties

Amish Gold Slicer
None ripe yet - just the one with a slightly green shoulder, and the second one a little less ripe, but they are starting! I wish we had them, as the last few years they came in second and third in the tasting.

Big Beef
Came in first again! 3 of 4 of us had it on top, and the one who had the Goliath on top, had this second. Definitely a great tomato flavor, with a balanced flavor, and that juiciness needed in a good tomato!

Burracker's Favorite
None ripe yet - late variety.
Pretty In Pink
This was second for two of us, and 3rd and 4th for the other two, so it was 2nd overall, we figured. Good flavor, not quite as strong as the Big Beef, but better balanced than the Beefy Boy, was the general consensus.

Smaller Varieties

Green Tiger
One of my favorites every year, but the ones I got this season were NOT green tigers - a larger, red, unknown variety. Not bad, but not what I wanted. I'll find another source!

Sunset Falls - succession plant
This one I grew again, after getting an incredible number of tomatoes from just one plant last season, which had a great flavor. They are about 2-2 1/2" x 1", and ripen striped orange/yellow. It's a determinate, which I rarely plant, and as soon as the large number of tomatoes came off of the small plant, it dies! As much as I liked them, the later plants didn't produce as well - must not like heat - so I probably won't do this again. Everyone liked the flavor, as last year.

Sunsugar
As always, these are some of the best, though the incredible sweetness makes them good for other than usual things, like snacking on, som tum, and making raisin like dried tomatoes. Or anywhere else the sweetness is an advantage. They do have a great tomato flavor to go with it, as well, unlike some sweet ones I've tried.


When we were winding this up, I asked them when they wanted to come over for a chile tasting, since they are getting ready to ripen. I got dirty looks from a couple of them.

[applestar]

Fabulous! I’m going to come back and comment more later, but I had to jump in quick and say — what a wonderful selection you had ripe already!

[digitS']

Very helpful, PepperHead Dave!

Don't allow those dirty looks to discourage you on pepper tasting. I've little doubt that any negative reaction by some was outweighed by positive reactions by others. Still, caution tempers enthusiasm when it comes to pepper tasting ...

I did some quick research of some useful Coop Ext Services and came up with this:

White core."Under stressful conditions, tomato fruit often develop a tough, white core in their center."

There is more to it, including some possible remedies for the tomato grower.

Steve

[pepperhead212]

Thanks Steve - interesting info, also on "yellow shoulder". I am hoping it's only on a few of them. I have grown a few varieties of which every tomato had this white core. The #1 in my taste test a few years ago was one of those - Beauty King. I had to cut about 1/3 of each tomato away! Had it not been for this, I would have grown it again.

Update - I forgot to include the Black Vernisage in the list. Only had one ripe one, and they are small - 1 1/2 - 2 inches - so we couldn't keep going back, to compare. It had that good flavor of black tomatoes, with a very small core - usually, I just leave it, when cutting them up. They are very productive, and were the first of the non-cherry tomatoes to ripen. And none of them have split yet, despite all that rain, though it was later in the season that they started splitting, the first time I grew them.