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favorite What is YOUR Favorite Tomato for taste?

What's your favorite Tomato??

  • Total voters
    50
highalt said:
I voted blacks, because several of my favorites are blacks - Cherokee Purple, Indian Stripe, and Black Cherry. But actually my new favorites are pinks - Earl's Faux, and Giant Belgium.

To me, most paste tomatoes are bland and mealy, so not sure why Romas are so popular. Give me a big, flavorful beefsteak over them anyday! The only one I've grown so far that had any taste was Amish Paste. I can lots of tomato sauce and salsa, but I'd rather cook down a juicy tomato with flavor, than to use a meaty, bland tomato. If I wanted a tasteless sauce, I'd buy the stuff at the grocery store.
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I agree with the bland taste of most paste tomatoes including regular romas, but I really do recommend trying the opalka which is my main tomato every year now.
Personally I'm not fond of the black/purple types, but I agree there are many great pink varieties out there
 
POTAWIE said:
I agree with the bland taste of most paste tomatoes including regular romas, but I really do recommend trying the opalka which is my main tomato every year now.
Personally I'm not fond of the black/purple types, but I agree there are many great pink varieties out there
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Yeah, I've tried Opalka. The problem I had with it was not the taste, it just took too long to ripen for my short season. Most of them were still green when we had our first frost. :(
 
Thats too bad.
I've always said that since they are from Poland they should do well in cooler climates and shorter seasons, they are always quite early for me up here In Ontario and they produce very well.
 
POTAWIE said:
Thats too bad.
I've always said that since they are from Poland they should do well in cooler climates and shorter seasons, they are always quite early for me up here In Ontario and they produce very well.
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Maybe I'll give them another try. I definitely liked their larger size over most paste tomatoes, and they weren't mealy, like the San Marzano was.
 
I love Italian Tree Tomatoes. I get a few bushels off of one plant in a season. They are a little sweet and a little acidic and peel easily when dropped into boiling water.
 
Killing time so thought I’d give this thread a bump. Agree with ^ on Opalka. Outstanding flavor and very sweet; they will continue to be a mainstay in the tomato repertoire. No problem with ripening here in southern Michigan, had a bumper crop this year. Combined with Roma III, they make up my plums. Tried San Maranazo couple of years ago, did not like. Mealy, not tasteful, slow stunted fruit.

Grew Cherokee Purple this year for the first time. Very tasty, great for my tomato on sourdough sandwiches. Very thin skinned and quite perishable though, pretty much need to use them within a day of being picked.

Favorite large red still remains Brandywine. Great combination of flavor and size, although not as prolific a producer as other varieties. Thinking about trying the Sudduth Strain next year.

Now days, I seem to stick with the tried and true that has worked for me every year. While always on the look out for something different, I usually stick to the basics.
 
I voted beefsteak since it's my "go to" tomato (sandwiches, salads, salsa) - beefsteak just works well with other flavors, it doesn't steal the spotlight from whatever it's mixed with. But really, I like every tomato I've tried so far, it's pretty difficult to pick just one.... Also there was an heirloom I had grown called "ugly" or something like that - similar to a beefsteak, but well, ugly, and a little sweeter with fewer seeds; I gotta grow that again...
 
Sid03SVT said:
I voted beefsteak since it's my "go to" tomato (sandwiches, salads, salsa) - beefsteak just works well with other flavors, it doesn't steal the spotlight from whatever it's mixed with. But really, I like every tomato I've tried so far, it's pretty difficult to pick just one.... Also there was an heirloom I had grown called "ugly" or something like that - similar to a beefsteak, but well, ugly, and a little sweeter with fewer seeds; I gotta grow that again...
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FYI
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/tomato/msg0509005423369.html
http://criticalmiami.com/2007/07/17/ugly-tomato
http://gardenandgun.com/article/pretty-ugly
 
Reading all these tomato selections has me hankering for a BLT. Mmmmm. The oppressive heat last year really messed with all my tomatoes. I only managed one picking before the plants shriveled up and died. But I'll have to try some of these great suggestions for next season.
 
All ya'll are really missing out. There's no better tomato, and I can't believe Butch didn't even mention it, than the Creole tomato. And unfortunately, while you may be able to get some seeds, they ain't Creole unless they are grown south of the 30th parallel in the Mississippi delta. It's kind of like pierrick pipe tobacco, you can really only grow it in St. James parish though many try to duplicate the process. Nope, nothing better than a Creole.

So everyone ought to head down to New Orleans mid and late summer and get all you can while you can.
 
MIPEPPERGUY - thanks for the links; I had no idea it was such a controversial fruit...wait vegetable... wait... damn more controversy! :rofl:
 
Omar's Lebanese was my best tasting large heirloom this year. Gardener's Delight was the best heirloom cherry tomato. I will be growing both again next year.
 
I'm prone to growing a few "Supersteaks" they're large, round, crack resistant, meaty red flesh, small seed cavaties, Wonderful Taste, and reliable.

Greg
 
Paul Robeson, Prudens Purple, Orange Strawberry, Green Giant, and Mexico were fantastic for me this year. I grew over 100 varieties in 2011 season and although most were really good, if I had to pick the best in the different color categories, these stood out! My white varieties kicked mt butt this season and as far as bicolor tomatoes, I wasn't really impressed. We had a pretty short growing season this year though, due to an early frost in Sept.

Another couple worth mentioning were Grushovka (I liked it better than all my Roma types) and Green Sausage. It was my go-to to add to salsas. I'd usually add it with other tomatoes for color. When Great White does well (this yr. mine were red? I saved seeds from a cross :( ), it's a killer combination!!

Buck
 
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