Making tomato sauce NOT so sweet

[Rairdog]

What are some good varieties of tart tomatoes I can mix with my beefsteak and better boys to make the sauce less sweet. I am going to try and use less ripe ones this year. I usually core and freeze them whole. Then a min in micro, slide the skin off and mash them into a pot with garden herbs. I usually add store bought paste/canned to even it out. Lemon and vinegar don't seem to help much.

[imafan26]

Why don't you use the San Marzano or other paste tomatoes that were bred for sauce? I consider the beefsteaks more slicers. But if you want tartness you can grow some yellow pear tomatoes and that will increase the tartness.

[feldon30]

One of my favorite paste/plums is Sarnowski Polish Plum. Very productive and great flavor. Might be worth a try for next year.

[tomc]

Home canned tomato, often has quite a bit of added salt and lemon juice.

[Rairdog]

It really depends on the weather. Some years if it's dry they just dye off. Wet/steady years the chest freezer is full. My high ph well water doesn't help on dry years. They are grown for slicers but if there are extra they go in the freezer. I have grown roma and 1 oz snack which are pretty much smaller roma's and they are just as sweet. I still have time to buy some starts for dirt and plenty of time in the greenhouse for seed starts.

I can probably find San Marzano seeds and maybe yellow pear starts. Ideally a tart indeterminate that's lanky and not bushy would work well in my aquaponic greenhouse. Those Sarnowski Polish Plum look interesting if they don't get to bushy. Thanks for the help.

[applestar]

When you are canning tomatoes to preserve, you are supposed to add lemon juice, vinegar or citric acid/

The USDA and University-based researchers have determined that to ensure a safe acid level for boiling water canning of whole, crushed, or juiced tomatoes, add 2 tablespoons of bottled lemon juice or ½ teaspoon of citric acid per quart of tomatoes. For pints, use 1 tablespoon of bottled lemon juice or ¼ teaspoon of citric acid. Acid can be added directly to the jars before filling the jars with product. Add sugar to offset acid taste, if desired. Four tablespoons of 5-percent-acidity vinegar per quart may be used instead of lemon juice or citric acid. However, vinegar may cause undesirable flavor changes. (Canning Tomatoes, Introduction).

http://nchfp.uga.edu/tips/summer/home_preserv_tomatoes.html

...so you could do the same to fresh made sauce. Is the recommended amount the same as what you tried and found to be insufficient?

I haven't grown better boy and beefsteak in a long while. I like heirloom tomatoes that have what
I call "full complex tomato flavor" -- sweet, rich, tangy, mouthwatering with lingering flavor that excites the entire tongue. I find some varieties to be insipid with limited flavor notes. Sauce made with the rich flavored tomatoes are to die for.

[Rairdog]

I haven't added the recommended amount of lemon juice but it wasn't getting better the more I added. I have cherokee purple and large cherry heirlooms and plan on adding more next year. Maybe I could get in on some seed exchanges. Space is limited so I keep to what has avoided cracks, wilt and blight. I'm even growing some on the neighbors side of the property line so she doesn't have to walk as far to steal my others.

I just picked up some San Marzano seeds to try them out. How big do they get? Will picking picking beef/boy with green shoulders help?

[ElizabethB]

Raiddog - I have not used them in a sauce but green zebras are not sweet. A wonderful taste that is hard to describe. I had some last year and never thought of using them in a sauce.

[feldon30]

Cherokee Purple is a tremendous tomato and is the reason WHY I grow tomatoes. But I wouldn't use it for sauce unless you have lots of gardening space. If canning is a priority for you, I'd grow a paste/oxheart/plum like the aforementioned Sarnowski Polish Plum, or something like San Marzano.

[Rairdog]

Thanks E, I will see if there are some green zebra starts locally. I have found Mr Stripey but know nothing about them.

Feldon, I have a friend that grows Cherokee Purple and everyone swears by them. Honestly, I think my beef/boy taste as good or better. Probably because she is growing in a GH in big containers and I have almost 2 feet of river-bottom topsoil. This is my first year and the seedlings have not kept up with my other varieties. Hopefully they come around.

I guess sweetness should be considered a good thing since sour tangy tomato's doesn't give you a good google search. It's probably because we are used to unripe store canned tomatoes. Just like celery and lettuce doesn't taste watered down when out of the garden.

[imafan26]

San Marzano is like Roma, only a little longer with a pointy tip. It is an Italian paste tomato and is supposed to be one of the best ones to use for sauce.

http://www.rareseeds.com/san-marzano-lungo-no-2-tomato/

[Rairdog]

San Marzano is like Roma, only a little longer with a pointy tip. It is an Italian paste tomato and is supposed to be one of the best ones to use for sauce.

http://www.rareseeds.com/san-marzano-lungo-no-2-tomato/

Yes, I have been researching it and already purchased/planted some seeds since you mentioned it. Looks like it's vinning/spindling indeterminate which is perfect for snaking around in GH without it taking over. Little long to mature so I'm pushing it for dirt but it might work out.

[applestar]

This Sarnowski Polish Plum is a new one for me. I will have to look that up and possibly add to my next year's wishlist.

[feldon30]

Feldon, I have a friend that grows Cherokee Purple and everyone swears by them. Honestly, I think my beef/boy taste as good or better. Probably because she is growing in a GH in big containers and I have almost 2 feet of river-bottom topsoil.

Yeah that could certainly be it. Also, darker colored tomatoes don't fully develop their pronounced flavor in more northern climates. I hope CP tastes as good here as it did in Houston.

I guess sweetness should be considered a good thing since sour tangy tomato's doesn't give you a good google search. It's probably because we are used to unripe store canned tomatoes. Just like celery and lettuce doesn't taste watered down when out of the garden.

It does seem like most people focus on sweet tomatoes cause they have sadly become accustomed to the tasteless pink bags of water at the store. I want a full flavor profile with sweet, zippy, and meaty.


There are so many plum/paste varieties. I think it's a matter of trialing a few and seeing which gives you the most pounds-per-plant and usable production.

Another one to consider is Wes. It is more of an oxheart with large to very large (1+ lb) heart-shaped tomatoes:


Click for Larger Size

[Juliuskitty]

Wes is one of my, and most that grow it favorites. I just love it. It was not tart though. It had more of the balanced profile you mentioned.