Your "Best Tasting Tomato" for 2023

[Yak54]

So what variety would you say was "The Best Tasting" for the 2023 season ? I just ate one of the last AGP tomatoes on the plant and I was so very surprised with the wonderful flavor of it. I'd have to say it was the very best tasting tomato I've had this season. And this is compared to a total of 7 varieties grown including Brandywine. The plant is my least productive variety this season probably due to the weather conditions and my screw up on the fertilization schedule the first half of the season. But the flavor of this tomato was superb and now I have to try and repeat it for next year so AGP is a grow again variety for next season. So I'd like to hear from Junction members about which variety was "The Best Tasting" for the 2023 growing season.

[Wildcat82]

For me, Black Cherry was the best tasting just like last year. Sweet but with a noticeable tanginess I like.

[karstopography]

Pruden’s Purple. First timer on growing that variety. Hard to describe the flavor other than it was uniquely delicious. More than just a tomato with good sweetness, seemed like that every flavor in the tomato was great and that each flavor in the tomato worked together to enhanced the others. A Balanced tomato, but the sum of the delightful flavors exceeded the individual parts. For fresh eating without anything else being added but a whiff of salt, Pruden’s Purple is the best tomato I’ve ever eaten. Probably going to be chasing that high from here on out to eternity. The skin on Pruden’s Purple has a faint note of bitterness, but that’s easily solved by peeling it away.

Pruden’s purple was on the lower end on productivity as compared to other pink tomatoes I grew, but not out of line especially and definitely not so bad as to not grow it again.

I did have a lot of especially good tasting tomatoes this year and I believe the very dry, lack of rainfall conditions helped in that regard.

Pruden’s Purple is on my 2024 grow list. Aunt Ginny’s purple is a maybe for 2024. Can’t decide if I want to try it for the first time or perhaps another first time variety or grow more past favorites. I might at least start AGP from seed and then pick the best looking transplants from a variety of tomatoes to put into the beds.

Generally, I plant about a 50/50 mixed of new to me types and ones I’ve grown before. But, I could always tilt the math one way or another.

[Yak54]

Karstopography ...You have a few months to figure it out ! In regard to AGP....I grew it (or so I thought) last year for the first time with seed sent from a seed exchange. Long story short...seed was crossed and I had some unknown variety that was not AGP. So this year I bought seed for AGP from TGS and both the plant and the fruit was much different than last year. I'm glad I grew it again cause the one I ate today was wonderfully superb !

[pepperhead212]

@karstopography I grew Pruden's Purple many years ago, I also found it to be the best tasting, that season, but I also found it to be sort of non-productive. Plus, it stopped flowering when it got very warm, and the later ones took a lot longer to produce and ripen, since they were so large! Almost every tomato was around a lb, or larger, and some were just under 24 oz, my largest ever, up to that point in time. How did it do in the heat in your area? Obviously, a lot hotter than what I would have had, which might have been in the high 90s. Also, the tomatoes seemed to be "pink", not purple, and were described as such, back then. I might try it again, if it seems improved.

This year wasn't a great season for tomatoes, and a couple of the best flavored ones died from disease, while ones next to them were untouched. The Brandywine Red was maybe the best, but also the first to go, so I got few tomatoes. And Hippie Zebra was also very good, and hung on a little longer, but eventually died from something - again, nothing nearby was touched by the disease. Brandyboy hybrid was also one of the better flavored varieties, but was slowed early by heat (before other varieties). The Amish Slicer was not quite as strong as these other varieties at the top, but with a well balanced, and delicious flavor, as always, which is why I have grown it for years. It was slowed some by the heat, but never did the blossoms completely disappear.

[karstopography]

@pepperhead212 TLDR version, Pruden’s Purple seems about in line, more or less, with other large Pink heirloom tomatoes as far as heat tolerance, foliage issues, fruit setting temperature preferences, but I have only the one season, one Pruden’s Purple plant to base that on. Seeds came from TGS.

The longer version is that the bulk or majority of productive fruit setting of the spring tomato season I have here 12 miles from the Gulf of Mexico in Texas really happens before any exceptionally hot weather occurs. I’m not sure growers well to the north understand that when they are perhaps just setting out their ~8” transplants into the beds, I’m already harvesting ripe tomatoes and close to the mid point of my season.

Yes, if I waited until late in April or into May to transplant into the beds like what might be done 500 or 1,000 miles to the north, then I doubt I’d get a single Pruden’s Purple tomato to set fruit or maybe one truss and out type of deal. Timing is everything and if the time in between chilly spring weather and Autumn chill is what ultimately determines the length of the tomato season up north, it’s the time between late winter chilly weather and deal killing summer heat that times our spring season here, the typical summer heat here does in all the tomatoes, at least as far as fruit setting goes, down here on the coast, with the exception of small fruited types or perhaps a heat tolerant hybrid or two.

Most of my larger slicer tomatoes such as Pruden’s Purple are setting their fruit from mid late March up to about the end of May if things go well with the weather. Maybe some years, the fruit setting happens into mid June with more heat tolerant types. Here along the coast, we seldom crack 90° until later in May. By that point of the season, most of the fruit is already established on the vines or has come into the house as ripe or color breaking fruit.

Pruden’s Purple from the one time growing one plant seems to be more or less in line with other tomatoes in that large pink open pollination slicer class as far as overall heat tolerance. None of them in my experience do particularly well setting fruit once the days rise above 90° and the nights stay above 70°. Nights consistently above 75° generally mean zero fruit set with the exception of some cherry, small paste types, our known heat lovers, that’s been my experience.

Somewhere around 78°-88° or so during the day and 58°-68° during the night in my experience is the sweet spot of tomato setting fruit for the large slicer heirloom types. The best chance in the spring for that type of weather here is generally late in March into mid May or so. I want my tomatoes flowering well during that time.

Whatever ripe large tomatoes I end up getting into the house from about mid July on into August are those ones that set fruit well back when things were more favorable temperature wise, but delayed their development until some of the ripened fruit was removed from the vines.

[Tim DH]

Rosella (bred by Gourmet Genetics) gets our vote for Best Tasting again

I really must try some of the other cultivars from that breeder. Their website particularly promotes Sweet Aperitif.

Tim DH

[Cornelius_Gotchberg]

Despite furious competition (Sheboygan Heirloom, Old German, Big Zac Hybrid, etc. etc. etc.) looks like Mountain Magic wins the Jardín del Gotch Taste Test Challenge...again...five (5) years running.

The Gotch

[Labradors]

For me it was Orange Strawberry, which tasted amazing. Maglia Rosa was also excellent, as always.

In the disappointing category were previous favourites: Little Lucky, Rosella, Prairie Fire and even Blush. I think that all the rain didn't help

Linda

[Paulf]

So far a tie between Canadian Heart and Cherokee Chocolate.

[Josetom]

It's very interesting to me how cherry tomatoes can win this category.. Size isn't everything

I cannot help to notice too how relative oscure varieties end up being the best tasting for experienced growers instead of more"famous" ones as Cherokee purple, Black Krim, Brandywine, etc..

My season it's just starting so I will comment later

[Stitchingmom]

Rosella (bred by Gourmet Genetics) gets our vote for Best Tasting again

I really must try some of the other cultivars from that breeder. Their website particularly promotes Sweet Aperitif.

Tim DH

Is this Rosella Purple or Rosella Crimson, or another variety? Thanks!

I grew Pruden's Purple this year, and it was one of my more prolific types.

For me, the best this year was Green Zebra. I love bold flavors and this one wowed me. I made so many mistakes this year, and weird things happened, like different sized/shaped fruit on the same plant. A couple incorrect commercial seed packs, lost tags..... I have big plans to do better next year!

[Tim DH]

Its just Rosella:

https://www.gourmetgenetics.com/tomato/rosella.html

It's one of three Gourmet Genetics varieties which has an RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGM)

Tim DH

[pepperhead212]

@Stitchingmom What was your source for those Pruden's Purple seeds? I ask because you mentioned that it was one of the more prolific types, while that was one of the things that I didn't like about it - the low production. I'm definitely thinking of trying it again.

[Wildcat82]

Rosella (bred by Gourmet Genetics) gets our vote for Best Tasting again

I really must try some of the other cultivars from that breeder. Their website particularly promotes Sweet Aperitif.

Tim DH

I had noticed on Baker Creek's website that a lot of people really like that variety. Rosella look just very similar to Black Cherry - how would you compare the 2 varieties?

[Wildcat82]

It's very interesting to me how cherry tomatoes can win this category.. Size isn't everything

I cannot help to notice too how relative oscure varieties end up being the best tasting for experienced growers instead of more"famous" ones as Cherokee purple, Black Krim, Brandywine, etc..

My season it's just starting so I will comment later

It seems like cherry tomatoes dominate the top spots in all the taste test results I've seen while the "famous" slicer varieties are usually middle of the pack.

5 Year Average Tomato taste test results
1. Sun Gold 2.73
2. Sun Sugar 2.71
3. Blush 2.70
4. Super Sweet 100 2.69
5. Isis Candy 2.66
6. Carbon 2.61
7. Amana Orange 2.58
8. Sugary 2.57
9. Pink Bumblebee 2.56
10. Snow White Cherry 2.56
11. Black Cherry 2.55
12. Sweet Chelsea 2.55
13. Green Grape 2.54
14. Red Zebra 2.53
15. Stupice 2.52
https://morningsunherbfarm.com/pages/to ... st-results

The Missouri State Fair results for 2013-2017 looked very similar with cherry tomatoes taking the top spots. Super Sweet 100, Sunsugar, Sungold, Brandysweet Plum, and Sweet Treats were prominent. (Unfortunately the university of Missouri link to the results was taken offline.)

[rossomendblot]

Rosella (bred by Gourmet Genetics) gets our vote for Best Tasting again

I really must try some of the other cultivars from that breeder. Their website particularly promotes Sweet Aperitif.

Tim DH

I had noticed on Baker Creek's website that a lot of people really like that variety. Rosella look just very similar to Black Cherry - how would you compare the 2 varieties?

I think it tastes a bit better than Black Cherry. Then I also think Reinhard's Purple Sugar tastes better than Rosella. I don't know if Gourmet Genetics are still breeding new varieties, they got bought out by a bigger seed company a few years ago. They seemed to move away from tomatoes and become more interested in chillies, but haven't released any new ones for a couple of years now.

Sweet Aperitif is a very good cherry too.

[Wildcat82]

Despite furious competition (Sheboygan Heirloom, Old German, Big Zac Hybrid, etc. etc. etc.) looks like Mountain Magic wins the Jardín del Gotch Taste Test Challenge...again...five (5) years running.

The Gotch

I'm always on the lookout for a good saladette variety since I can't seem go grow slicers here worth a darn. If Mountain Magic won the prestigious Jardin del Gotch Taste Test Challenge, I will have to try it.

[Cornelius_Gotchberg]

@Wildcat82;

Space and stake it (it'll exceed 7'/2 meters +) properly and you'll get beau coup fruit; good luck!

The Gotch

[Tim DH]

Rosella look just very similar to Black Cherry - how would you compare the 2 varieties?

A couple of weeks ago a neighbour came round with some Black Cherry. I think Rosella beat them, but the two varieties weren't grown side by side.

Then I also think Reinhard's Purple Sugar tastes better than Rosella.

Looks like I'll have to add Reinhard's Purple Sugar to next years contenders list. Trouble is, that list is already too long!!

Tim DH