Toddler friendly tomatos?

[Puffychicken]

Obviously all tomatoes are friendly for toddlers if you cut them right, but I would like suggestions for tasty, sweet tomatoes that are either kind of long and skinny or quite small so that they aren't choking hazards but a toddler could still just eat it directly from the plant. Most cherries and grapes would be right out since they'd need to be cut for any child under 5. Any suggestions?

[maxjohnson]

Current tomatoes like Matt's Wild Cherry.

[Mark_Thompson]

Is this for a community garden or something that you’re worried about liability? My two and a half year old eats any size tomato with no concerns


This one is marketed as a dipping tomato, might fit your needs:

https://www.superseeds.com/products/sun ... id-65-days

[Puffychicken]

@Mark_Thompson no nothing like that, just thinking ahead to toddlerhood and trying to match the choking guidelines I was given. Thanks for the link!

[Puffychicken]

@maxjohnson hmmm I grew Matt's wild cherry last year and think they might still be too big, they weren't particularly small for me.

[Mark_Thompson]

@Puffychicken Got it. Yeah it varies greatly from child to child, never hurts to plan ahead though.

[bower]

This never occurred to me as a hazard but I just looked it up and all kinds of cherry and grape tomatoes are considered a choking hazard for babies. I would keep cutting them in little pieces, even the cherries, until the child has plenty of teeth and is used to eating a variety of solid foods.
OTOH as you originally asked, maybe a somewhat larger tomato would work as a teething toy? Any salad sized tomato with nice flavor should do it. Big enough so it can't go whole into the child's mouth. What about skin type? Thin skinned might be nicer too, easier to get to the juice.

[MissS]

My grandfather would take us kids out to the garden and pick us each a big beefsteak tomato. We would sit down and devour them with the juice running down our chins. Sometimes he would even bring out the salt shaker. There is no choking hazard biting into a beefsteak.

[Tormato]

Obviously all tomatoes are friendly for toddlers if you cut them right, but I would like suggestions for tasty, sweet tomatoes that are either kind of long and skinny or quite small so that they aren't choking hazards but a toddler could still just eat it directly from the plant. Most cherries and grapes would be right out since they'd need to be cut for any child under 5. Any suggestions?

Even the skinny elongated ones can be near perfect-sized choking hazards. All it takes is ONE wrong bite. I think it's too much of a risk for a toddler to be picking the tomato. Even if it's a smaller type, there can be a range of sizes on the plant, and a child will likely be drawn to the biggest one.

I say cut up the tomatoes. And go with fully ripened SunGolds, because to a child, and many adults, they are like candy.

And, I'll add that in the cooking threads, I will keep reminding people to cut hotdogs into half circle medallions, because a full circle medallion is basically the perfect choking hazard.

[MissS]

Obviously all tomatoes are friendly for toddlers if you cut them right, but I would like suggestions for tasty, sweet tomatoes that are either kind of long and skinny or quite small so that they aren't choking hazards but a toddler could still just eat it directly from the plant. Most cherries and grapes would be right out since they'd need to be cut for any child under 5. Any suggestions?

Even the skinny elongated ones can be near perfect-sized choking hazards. All it takes is ONE wrong bite. I think it's too much of a risk for a toddler to be picking the tomato. Even if it's a smaller type, there can be a range of sizes on the plant, and a child will likely be drawn to the biggest one.

I say cut up the tomatoes. And go with fully ripened SunGolds, because to a child, and many adults, they are like candy.

And, I'll add that in the cooking threads, I will keep reminding people to cut hotdogs into half circle medallions, because a full circle medallion is basically the perfect choking hazard.

It's even safer if you cut them in half lengthwise and then cut them on the diagonal into bite size pieces.

[Puffychicken]

@Tormato Yeah, you're probably right. I'll get one of those grape cutters to make it easy. And good reminder about the hot dogs

[Tormato]

@Tormato Yeah, you're probably right. I'll get one of those grape cutters to make it easy. And good reminder about the hot dogs

For cutting small tomatoes in half, take two same-sized lids from plastic food containers, place one lid upside down on a table/counter, fill with one layer of tomatoes, place other lid on top. Then hold top lid down with one hand (watch where your fingers are), while CAREFULLY slicing between the two lids with a knife. My guess is that there are youtube videos demonstrating this.

I'm unaware of the grape cutters. Perhaps they are safer?

[Tormato]

Obviously all tomatoes are friendly for toddlers if you cut them right, but I would like suggestions for tasty, sweet tomatoes that are either kind of long and skinny or quite small so that they aren't choking hazards but a toddler could still just eat it directly from the plant. Most cherries and grapes would be right out since they'd need to be cut for any child under 5. Any suggestions?

Even the skinny elongated ones can be near perfect-sized choking hazards. All it takes is ONE wrong bite. I think it's too much of a risk for a toddler to be picking the tomato. Even if it's a smaller type, there can be a range of sizes on the plant, and a child will likely be drawn to the biggest one.

I say cut up the tomatoes. And go with fully ripened SunGolds, because to a child, and many adults, they are like candy.

And, I'll add that in the cooking threads, I will keep reminding people to cut hotdogs into half circle medallions, because a full circle medallion is basically the perfect choking hazard.

It's even safer if you cut them in half lengthwise and then cut them on the diagonal into bite size pieces.

That doesn't work with Dr. Hook's (remember my past alias) fingers.

[JRinPA]

I don't think I ever ate tomatoes as a kid.

[Julianna]

I just used cherries and cut them in half. Yellow Marble is the fav for my kids and the size is quite small. Cutting them in half worked well.