Amazing grocery store tomato

[svalli]

I went today to a local Lidl store, because I heard that they have now the Adora tomatoes. I do not buy a lot of tomatoes during winter and usually buy the local greenhouse tomatoes, but these Adoras from Spain are so good that I could not resist. These are really sweet and tangy and taste like summer ripened tomatoes. Unfortunately it is a hybrid. Some people in Finland tried to grow them last summer from the seeds they took from the tomatoes and the results were really variable.

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Sari

[bower]

Oooh they look amazing.
I wonder what the parents are like, if the F2 are so variable. I guess they must both be beefsteaks, to produce such a nice large F1. They must both be black as well. Finding a great tasting F1 cross from two big blacks, that's better than either parent, is quite a feat.

[brownrexx]

Our stores only sell those pale red, hard balls that look like tomatoes.

[worth1]

Our stores only sell those pale red, hard balls that look like tomatoes.

Mine for the most part too.
It has to do with demographics to some extent where I live.
In a small Mexican market here you will be hard pressed to find anything but a Roma tomato.
They simply can't afford to buy and stock items that won't sell.
But boy howdy look out the herbs and spices will be over the top.

[svalli]

Our stores only sell those pale red, hard balls that look like tomatoes.

That is how those mid winter local bulk greenhouse tomatoes here are. If I buy tomatoes, I usually look for the bit more expensive ones, which are some special variety and usually those are the cherry type.
I try to support the local produce growers, but these Adora tomatoes taste so good .

Sari

[Paquebot]

In the case of commercial black tomatoes, Kumato was one of the first and developed in Spain. I grew out some F2 seed and most plants produced true to type. F3 and F4 never changed and I offered it on SSE. Nobody ever reported getting any thing different from my seed. I would suggest growing out some F2 Adora and bet that most will be true to the parent.

Martin

[Tormahto]

Our stores only sell those pale red, hard balls that look like tomatoes.

You forgot to mention that the styrene packaging has better taste and texture.

[Harry Cabluck]

Sari ! The bread and cheese look delicious enough to boost the taste of anything.

[rossomendblot]

https://www.hortidaily.com/article/9168 ... ra-flavor/

“Optimum flavor is reached by asking most of the plant. We’re continuously looking for the right balance in growing.”

“Growers have tried to grow it local, but even though you can use the same variety, it turned out to be impossible to get the same organoleptic qualities”

“It’s the Spanish conditions and our growth strategy that gives it the specific taste.”

“The yield of this variety is not high, so the production is very different from regular tomatoes. With this variety you get less kilos per square meter – lower yield like this often result in better flavor.”

“We use as little water as possible. We possibly could increase the yield by giving more water, but when it becomes too big the flavor will decrease. The more compact the tomato is, the more flavorful, and flavor is the most important aspect of the Adora tomato”, Juan explains. “So we give it just enough water to stay alive. We keep the crop on the edge of surviving during the growing process in order to get a nice flavor profile.”

It is quite difficult to grow this way. “One mistake and you could lose your yield, but the flavor is worth it.” He explains how the flavor is something different, especially for this size tomato. “All tomatoes marketed under the Adora name have a Brix value of 7+ - it’s a must to be branded.”

“It’s remarkable to see that in Southern Europe the sweet taste is favorite, whereas in more Northern regions a slightly more acid balance is favored. At the beginning this tomato’s flavor profile is mainly acidic, but as it matures it becomes sweeter – it loses acidity every single day. It still has a great flavor when it’s green and more acidic. The tricky part with this tomato is to get the balance between sugar and acidity. So if the customer prefers a bit more acidity they can eat the tomato earlier, and if they prefer it sweeter they can give it some time to ripen. To me the optimal time to eat the tomato would be 3-5 days after harvesting, but the Adora has the perfect taste to offer to everyone.”

[Donnyboy]

Based on the title of the thread, I assumed it would be another Campari tomato story. I've read many threads about how the Campari is the only grocery store tomato people can compare to a fresh garden tomato. Our daughter kept telling us how great they are. In our area, Krogers is the only grocery selling campari. I bought some this past weekend and people are not exaggerating about the good taste of campari.

[mama_lor]

Made by french breeder Clause (usually focusing on cheap but decent hybrids).
"the result of a cross between the traditional Raf tomato and the Black Crimea tomato".

So, now you know how to make it. Of course, it's probably a specific selection of these tomatoes. Can't really find the original name, not clear if it's Unico or Adora.

There's plenty of good tomatoes in stores. Brioso (actual variety name), produced in NL, a top saladette, on the sour/balanced side. Sunstream (also in NL) for people that like sweet and sour (I'm not that fond of it). Various grape tomatoes, especially those made in Morocco and Tunisia. Pretty much everything produced by Saveol in France (not so common anymore, probably due to increasing prices).

[Frosti]

ah dang it, I just discovered this variety in a larger supermarket (Kaufland) and was about to save some seeds ... I can confirm that this variety has a surprisingly good taste for a supermarket tomato, in fact, I'd go so far as to say that this is the first non cherry (from a supermarket) that actually deserves to be called "tomato".

I'm actually not convinced that this variety is not open pollinated. I could not find a single source that calls it "Adora F1" even when other hybrids are all clearly labeled as such.
This ad even calls it an heirloom ... https://naturesweet.com/products/adora/

According to this thread, the next generation is true to type ... and tastes very sweet:
https://www.tomaten-forum.com/thread-3662-page-4.html


I'm growing "Sweet Marmande" this season anyway, so this is the perfect opportunity to compare the two. If my memory serves me right, they look alike. I'm pretty sure Sweet Marmande and Adora are one and the same. If they also grow, look, and taste the same, then this variety is open pollinated.

[Frosti]

small update:

two seeds were sown and two seeds germinated. I'm pretty sure one of those seeds was a potato leaf plant, so I guess that should settle the question of whether or not Adora is open pollinated. Unfortunately some critters took a liking to the PL plant, so it didnt make it.

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The RL plant is looking good though ...

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Its flowers tell me that the fruits won't be of cherry size:

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btw. Sweet Marmande is also a RL plant.

[Frosti]

I just ate the first "sweet marmande", and it indeed is Adora. It tastes and looks like it. Unfortunately there are very few fruits on my Sweet Marmande and my Adora plant. Between 1 and 3. Worse production than even Brandywine Sudduth. The tomato weighed 95g.

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