Discussions
Throwing Tomatoes
Posted by tcinvestor • 8/14/09 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: buy local, eating, food, health, heirloom tomatoes, organic, sustainability, tomatoes
Some people throw em and most people eat em. Why are Heirloom Tomatoes superior to hybrids?
Gotta go find out here.
livesmartbook.blogspot.com/2009/08/why-heirloom-tomatoes-are-better-for.htm...
Tell me what you think? Do they taste better? Do you know the difference? Have you ever tried one? Do you grow your own?
User Comments
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Heirlooms are well- sometimes better - and sometimes not.
yup I grow them - here in Alaska under HPS.-
Yea. The ones I have found to not be as good are the ones grown with synthetic fertilizers. All the organic ones I have had are rich with flavor and meaty not loaded with seeds and water.
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I can't eat the maters grown in Alaska or shipped here... They are all CRYSTALLY. or something icky - so we've tried a lot of different ones.
I do like Some Heirlooms, like the reds and the yellows - those are nice. I'm not too much into the chocolate ones - or the real colorful ones... They throw off my taste buds because of the wway they look... LOL!
I like plain old beefsteak and cherry tomatoes and Romas...
Those are my faves. -
LOL...some of them do look pretty knarley. See how hybridization has really skewed our tastes based on appearance.
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Unrelated but somehow related:
Tomatoes contain lycopene, which may lower the risks of certain cancers, such as prostate and colon cancer.-
Darn right. It is related because heirloom varieties grown without synthetic fertilizers are more dense with flesh and contain less water and often have more nutrients as a result. Thus more lycopene and vitamins.
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I didn't know that. I learn something new every day
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That is what I am here for. Always trying to share good info. Have a great weekend.
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We love them so much better. We have tried diffrent kinds. We grow them in compost and add sugar to the base of the pants (sometimes) Also putting fish in the ground by each plant helps too. (We used the inedible parts of the fish when we clean them). You need to try they dehydrated. They have such a nice taste to them.-
Hey thanks Amy. Great tips. Didn't know about the sugar. What does that do? Dehydrated..very good idea. Especially since there will be to many to eat.
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I grow both and can't tell much difference in the taste.-
Do you grow organically? Do you use fertilizer?
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1. the sugar makes them sweeter sometimes (a friend used cokes for his I just dont like all the additives)
2. after you dehydrate them put them in the freezer. They will mold other wise they have a lot of liquid in them even after dehydration but they taste like ketchup booms. I ate a bag in one week. I would get a handful instead of chips or junk food.-
Ahh..I see. LOL..yea, definitely go for them over junk food. C'mon you have tons of great stuff coming off that farm who needs the junk. Although, I tend to grab some fries now and then or a great piece of chocolate desert from this place in town that has the best chocolate from around the world. Oh man.
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I wish I could grow sea food ten I would be set. But I did grow over 50 cabbages this year. Gave alot away to feed hungry people and ate a bunch here too
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That's great. We were talking about taking some to a local food kitchen. It is a great idea to give it away if you can. Times are tough for a lot of people.
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I like your description - "Ketchup Booms"
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At the Farmer's Market, one hydroponic place sells heirloom tomatoes which are purple with greenish streaks. They taste the same, but the coloring makes them pleasing to my brain and my tongue. Blue potatoes, too, have the same effect.-
Yea. I love those blue potatoes. The heirlooms your buying are probably Cherokee Purple, Black Brandywine or Purple Passion. Would you grow your own in a patio pot?
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yep, I grow my own - roma, cherry and big beef tomatoes
i've always wanted to to the tomato fight too-
I love growing tomatoes. But i admit my schedule no longer gives the the luxury.I usually like to eat them raw. -
I have seen footage of the tomato throwing festival. I does look like a raucous good time.
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Don't like tomatoes. Never have.-
Have you ever tried an heirloom tomato?
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I prefer to grow brandywine tomatoes.-
ok that is the one I was thinking about. We like those and found a brandywine better boy cross and one called the bloody butcher that was good. I found on called the homestead this year and it is ok not the best for size.
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Yeah I got a funky type this year too, I wanted to grow them potted and they're...tasty but small. My cherry tomatoes are doing much better!
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have you tried the pink or yellow ones with less acid in them? My father in law grew them and they are really sweet.
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Oh, I'm trying to remember what they're called.....hum....damn I can't! I haven't tried them, no. I usually grow what's local and accustomed to the climate here.
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Can you get the Brandywine where your at? Black Brandywine?
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Just regular brandywine - yeah they're at the local nurseries. They are very tasty
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They are one of my favorites as well. We grow the black ones. They are a cross between a regular Brandywine and no one knows for sure but probably a Cherokee purple or a Black Krim
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Anok - do you notice a taste difference with heirloom tomatoes (especially organic or ones you grow at home) as compared to conventional tomatoes?
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I have never done a side by side comparison
I did with the brandywine though, and i noticed a huge difference. Texture, taste, and coloration. Although all of the food in my garden grows to enormous sizes and my brandywines were probably twice the size of regular ones - they were heartier and meatier without tasting mealy and plain. Probably because i pick them before they get overripe - which is when the sugar starts to convert in the plants (usually to a starch, or starchy like substance).
You know what I did notice a HUGE difference in, though? Home grown potatoes VS store bought. Holy crap I never knew that potatoes actually tasted that good! -
I have not grown my own potatoes yet but this gives me good reason to. Thanks for the reminder.
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I think the point of heirloom tomatoes is not only taste, but also biodiversity. If we only use the same kind of tomato, we're in trouble if a disease ever attacks it. That's one of the major problems with current industrial farming practices.
The tomatoes I'm getting in my farm share or "normal" and heirloom. Some are red and others are yellow, which is kinda cool.-
Oh yea..I am really diggin the yellow heirlooms. This year they have tasted better than any other ones I have. I also agree on the biodiversity aspect. Do a lot of people participate in the farm share?
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I forget where our numbers are. We're past 100, but I'm not sure by how much. The farm is biodynamic, and we supplement from other local farms as well as with things like dates from Arizona and citrus from Florida.
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That is a pretty good turn out. It is really popular here where I live now but wasn't the case in Florida. It should be though.
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Tomatoes are only good mashed up into ketchup or spagetti sauce-
You poor deprived soul.
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c'mon..you never had a nice thick slice with a thick slice of fresh mozzarella on top and a fresh piece of basil on top of that, drizzled with balsamic vinegar and a little olive oil and a dash of salt? You don't know what your missing.
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My culinary tastes are very unimpressive:)
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It is time to expand the horizons. There is a whole brave new world out there to explore.
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Of course, a store-bought tomato can have no taste whatsoever. Gotta get local and fresh. I'd take that even over organic, if the organic came from far away.
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I agree Mark. We try to get as much local produce as we can especially this time of year.
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We have 7 different varieties (2 are cherry tomatoes). None are hybrids but I don't know what their real names are. The seed collecting started over 30 years ago. Some islanders even had seeds that dated back farther than that that they kept. The labels they have now are just names we made up for them.
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Have you ever had cross pollination on your own tomatoes that you grow where the colors, shapes and sizes changed along with the taste?
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We grow them in tomato tents to prevent cross pollination and blight.
But "yes" that can happen. -
That happened to me this year. Interesting results. Don't know If I will save the seeds though. I also need to use the tents here at our new place. My plants got hammered this year.
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Too bad. By hammered do you mean with blight?
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Yes. I had quite a bountiful crop going then Whammo- Phytophthora infestans...I tried using an organic spray ( extract of neem oil)it helped but they had a hard time recovering. The blight was bad this year in our area. The plentiful rain helped fuel the problem.
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