Ever since I discovered that there are over 4,000 (some would say 10,000) different varieties of tomatoes in the world, I’ve taken great pleasure in trying five to ten new varieties each year. Sometimes I make great discoveries. Sometimes it’s a disaster! But this year, I have to admit, my tomato harvest has been particularly bountiful. I’ve discovered several varieties that will rise to the ranks of the tomato pantheon and one, in particular, that made quite an impression.
This Year’s Trial
For all sorts of reasons that made March and April fly by too quickly, this is the second time in nearly 30 years that I haven’t grown my tomatoes by seed. Usually, I choose my tomato varieties at seed fairs and Seedy Saturdays. I like to support local, organic seed producers and favor open-pollinated varieties. But, this spring, I benefited from the expertise of the wonderful Josiane from Ferme Cormier in L’Assomption. Every year, she creates tomato six-packs, each more intriguing than the other. There are always little discoveries to be made!
My tomato section was dominated by cherry tomatoes of all colors! I grew a pink cherry tomato, named ‘Sweet Treat’ and another pretty orange cherry tomato called ‘Sweet Orange’. I also got to discover a grape-type tomato, that is to say an elongated cherry tomato, in the person of ‘Navidad’. Very productive and very tasty.
Then I was spoiled with several marbled-skinned tomatoes. Speckles of yellow, orange, or green on contrasting backgrounds. How beautiful they were in salads! Among these, I grew the ‘Chocolate Sprinkle’ and three variations from the ‘Bumblebee’ series : ‘Pink Bumblebee’, ‘Purple Bumblebee’ and ‘Sunrise Bumblebee’.
I also had the great pleasure of growing a green tomato, the ‘Lucky Tiger’, which is elongated, larger than a grape tomato, but smaller than an Italian tomato! I have a soft spot for green tomatoes. Their flavor is often less acidic and less sweet. It might be worth pointing out that a green tomato is not a tomato that you pick before it’s ripe. It is indeed a tomato that stays green when ripe!
And finally, this year I only had two larger tomato varieties: the ‘Brandywine Red’ and the ‘Cappuccino’ tomato.
So, all in all, it’s a happy mix of open-pollinated varieties, including some old varieties, and some newer varieties, and F1 hybrids. Overall, I can say that, apart from the ‘Brandywine Red’ tomato, they are all excellent varieties that produced generously and were little or not affected by disease. I really enjoyed them. The flavor was there. I even had enough to make a few freezer bags and share them with my work colleagues.
My Favorite Tomatoes From Past Years
To help me place my favorite tomato of the year in my personal pantheon, I thought it would be a good idea to share with you some of my personal favorites from recent years.
First of all, I have nothing but praise for the ‘Red Currant ‘ and ‘Yellow Currant ‘ tomatoes, which are currant-type tomatoes (smaller than cherry tomatoes). They are incredibly productive plants! I already mentioned these varieties when I told you about my love of mini tomatoes. I also have a weakness for pear-shaped tomatoes, like the ‘Red Pear’ and the ‘Yellow Pear’.
If we go a little bigger in size, my heart goes out to the ‘Tigerella’ tomato, a zebra-striped orange tomato that could be called a cocktail tomato. And finally, in the medium-sized tomato category, the ‘Green Zebra’ tomato has remained one of my favorites for nearly 20 years! It’s a regular in my garden.
For the bigger tomatoes, I can quickly mention ‘Taxi’, ‘Dufresne’, ‘Stupice’ and ‘Savignac’.
My Favorite Tomato This Year
Of all these wonderful tomatoes, the one that impressed me the most this year was… DRUMROLL… ‘Cappuccino’!
Yes! For once, my heart swung towards an F1 hybrid. For me, it’s practically sacrilege, as I love to encourage and promote old varieties. But you have to look at the facts. It’s been many years since I’ve grown a large tomato that gave me value for my money! Since the beginning of production, I’m at my seventh beautiful large tomato. There are three ripening on the edge of my windowsill. Those poor tomatoes fell when my plant collapsed under its own weight. And once raised and staked more securely, my plant quickly recovered from its fall to produce four new and very promising fruits!
‘Cappuccino’ is an indeterminate variety, which means that the plant will produce continuously until the cold stops it. The descriptions state that it produces very large fruits of 250 to 350 grams. For my part, the tomatoes are large, but their weight fluctuates more between 150 and 250 grams. It must be said that I am in organic management and that the plants are fed only chicken manure and vermicompost . It is also an early variety which produces fruits 73 days after transplanting, let’s say 80 in my case.
The fruit could be described as a slightly ribbed tomato (it’s not perfectly round) with dark red skin and dark purple shoulders. Its name, of course, comes from the coffee-colored spots on the top of the fruit. The skin is quite thick, which means it has a good shelf life in the fridge. And finally, the flavor is just perfect for me. Not too tangy, not too sweet.
Does It Win The Tasting Tomato Contest?
I was grateful to also grow ‘Red Brandywine’ in my garden this summer. The latter is renowned for being the big winner, year after year, of the best tomato sandwich! So I created my own competition! Same bread, same pesto, same mayonnaise. Only variation: tomato. This is some serious science!
And in conclusion, ‘Red Brandywine’ won hands down in this taste test. However, it has given me only three tomatoes up to now. The skin is thin so I even missed one that liquefied on the plant. Too bad! Also, of all the tomato varieties I grew this summer, the ‘Red Brandywine’ is the one that is most attacked by diseases, even though it’s still holding on. Being the best tasting tomato has its cost!
Twin Sisters and Confusion
The ‘Cappuccino’ tomato has a slight family resemblance to an old variety called ‘Noire de Crimée’ (also called ‘Black Krim’). The latter is actually native to Eastern Europe (more precisely Ukraine). It would be described as a dark red tomato with greenish-brown shoulders. It is said that the seeds of this tomato were harvested by soldiers of almost all armies, whether French, British or Italian, during the Crimean War (1853-1856). The variety was commercialized in the 90s. I would be very curious to compare these two varieties. In short, ‘Cappuccino’ is not the only tomato to wear a small brown coat over its red skin.
While doing my research, I also discovered that there is another tomato called ‘Cappuccino’, but this one is a small, reddish-brown cherry tomato. So, you will have to be very careful when buying seeds to get ‘the right’ variety!
I’d like to know what was your discovery in the tomato universe? Do you have a variety that has become your go-to? Are you satisfied with the classic varieties? Are you a “tomatadventurer”?