Tomato tasting 2021

[goosander]

Tried some new variety's this season as i could not get what i wanted. Alaskan fancy had the first on the first of June and old Ivory has come on and have a very good crop [ for me ] My favourite Ailsa Craig has had the odd one ripe for the last few days. Have a bush Tumbling Tom which is a mass of flowers and good sweet toms.. The rest not sure what they are doing.
Bob.

[burnie]

Just had a Black Russian and a Gardeners Delight, I think the GD is my favourite of the two, both similar in flavour, not much to choose if I'm being honest.

[annie8]

So late this year but tomorrow am going to pick the first of my tomatoes. Will let you know how they taste….

[SimpleSimon]

I've not had too many ripe ones but of the ones I've had...

Honeycomb - tastes like sungold as advertised. Too early to say if they aren't as prone to splitting though. Fingers crossed.
Sweet million - Like these, not overly sweet, nice bit of acid. Huge trusses.
Tomatoberry - not keen. Thick skin and a bit bland.

update.
Honeycomb. No splitting and far better shelf life than sungold. But not as sweet and plants aren't as vigourous though there could be other reasons for that. I'm actually not a massive fan of overly sweet tomatoes so I'd grow these over sungold in the future.

Sweet million. Producing rediculous amounts on each truss. Nice taste. Perfect red cherry tomato for me.

Indigo pear. Look lovely, especially in a tomato salad. Taste is average though.

Beef master F1. I think I've finally found a beefsteak that produces early, heavily and has a proper meaty flesh. And doesn't go instantly mushy the day you pick them. These plants have multiple KGs of fruit on them. Taste is very good too.

Beefmaster F1:

[annie8]

Finally can join the discussions. Picked my first tomatoes today - red cherry and Alisa Craig. Haven’t grown either before.

red cherry - sweet and tasty. Not overly sweet. Husband described it as very ‘tomatoey’. Looks like it will produce a higher yield tHN say gardeners delight. So liking that one.

ailsa craig - less sweet but is a salad size so would expect that. Also tasty and not watery.

when you compare it to the tomatoes you buy in the shop there just isn’t any comparison. The other ones I’m growing are green grape, black icicle and gardeners delight. Grown all of them so surprises. Green grape is a definite favourite for me.

[burnie]

Had our first British Breakfast, it looks like the Italian ones that are for cooking, but it makes a very nice salad tommie too, huge trusses, but the polination wasn't that good this year, though to be fair they are still cropping very well.

[SimpleSimon]

Well the beefmaster F1 are certainly living up to their name...

[burnie]

Had Tigerella and Moneymaker with some cheese and crackers for lunch, both have that nice flavour with a slightly acidic under taste, delicious.

[Snoop Puss]

Impressive looking tomatoes there, SimpleSimon. And yes, annie8, home-grown toms are so much better. I can't bring myself to buy fresh tomatoes in the winter.

Update:

Rose de Berne - absolutely fantastic flavour (we like quite sweet tomatoes). Need to be pinkish red all over for maximum flavour. Mr Snoop loves them.
Tomandine - definitely not as good as Marmande for flavour. The plants don't seem to so sturdy either. Still have seeds left but won't bother growing them again. I'd rather waste seeds than soil and water.

[Vince G]

So I've become a proper tomato snob. I cannot bear the almost ripe tomatoes I am served in restaurants in a salad or garnish. They are utterly flavourless as they are not allowed to ripen to produce the rich flavour us GYO ladies and gents know and love.

Here's my thoughts for the record (and I might add I really am not sponsored by Dobies, having waxed lyrical about the quality of their blight resistant varieties)

Cherry - Apero, nothing comes anywhere near it. It is superb. Picking off the little toms warm in the polytunnel, it's like stealing sweeties, feels sinful, they are amazing!

Salad tomatoes - 2 varieties stand out for me. Crimson crush blight resistant from Dobies. Deep rich flavour with a little acidity. Fantasio by Dobies, a little less acid. Equally fabulous grilled for breakfast or sliced in salads.

Plum tomatoes - Giulietta by Dobies. Nothing comes close for quantity of fruit, which is what I look for in making large batches of pasta sauce to freeze. Big thick fleshy toms with few seeds and easily removable skins.

Others. San Marzano is great as a plum, similar qualities to Giulietta but no blight resistance at all as blight is a rarity in Italy.

Black Russian. Found it difficult to judge when these were ripe and they're difficult to peel if you're cooking them, but if you catch them right they are mouth watering and could be the tastiest toms I've had, slightly acidic but deeply rich.

Faworyt by Dobies. Best Beefsteak I've found, acidic but quite sweet a fab breakfast treat on buttered toast.

[burnie]

I use Dobies seeds, have done since the 1990's, I do use others as well, but our old gardening club at a factory I worked at in Lutterworth used Dobies before they were taken over. I too am unsure when the Black Russians are ripe, I tend to leave them on if the backs still look green, I quite like them though.

[Bren In Pots]

I think my Black Russian toms ( seeds came with GYO mag) are really Black Cherry because the both look and taste the same.

[burnie]

That's what I've grown Bren

[Bren In Pots]

This is the packet the mine look nothing like them.

[annie8]

Yes they don’t look anything like Black Russian