Topic: Tomatoes

[vaca]

Hello,

I've harvested some tomatoes, two different varieties which I've been growing in pots. The cherry tomatoes taste great, juicy and sweet - but the Italian plum tomatoes don't taste of much and the texture is quite 'sandy'. I bought seedlings from Homebase, could it just be that the plum tomatoes were just not a good variety, or is it something I've done wrong? I did feed the plants every 10 days or so.  ???

thanks,
vaca

[flowerlady]

did you know that sugar enhances tom flavour?

when you serve them for salads:-

 try slicing them to desired thickness, sprinkle a little sugar over the slices, drizzle over Olive oil, or a  little vinaigrette, and then tear some basil leaves over all.

If you add mozzarella and avocado slices you get insalata tricolore!! ;D

[TEL]

HI
all the seeds i Had from homebase have not done that good

[Rosa_Mundi]

Plum tomatoes are generally used for cooking, Vaca - not salads. The exception is if you have a "baby" variety; they tend to be sweeter, and are fine uncooked.

[Hyacinth]

Plum tomatoes are generally used for cooking, Vaca - not salads. The exception is if you have a "baby" variety; they tend to be sweeter, and are fine uncooked.

Seconded! Dunno the variety of Italian plum you've grown, Vaca, but they're generally not a good 'eating' tom per se...we used to pulp and bottle them for the winter when I lived in Italy, to be used then in pasta sauces. You can turn them into a tom.salad, steeping them in a good olive oil, white wine vinegar, garlic & salt  & sprinkling chopped basil over them just before serving, and they'll be OK, but even so they'll never be as good as other 'eating' varieties. (Still better than the usual imported stuff, tho. IMO)...cheers!

[vaca]

Thanks for all the answers, I know that plum tomatoes are for cooking, that's the main reason I grew them, I am italian and always use tinned or fresh plum tomatoes as a base for many pasta sauces. The thing is that my plum tomatoes are worse than supermarket bought ones :( even worse that the tinned ones  :'(

The texture was really gritty. I've actually just finished eating a plate of pasta with a basic tomatoe sauce and also added a little sugar, it was ok, but I guess I thought that home grown freshly picked ones would turn out better  ???... Since this is the first time I grow tomatoes, I thought maybe I watered it too much or didn't feed them enough... but  they got the same care as the cherry toms and they are delicious  ??? ??? ???

[flowerlady]

Do you think that it has something to do with the intensity of the sun with plum toms? :-\

The ones that one can buy in the UK have nothing like the flavour of those one can buy on the continent? :(

[Mrs Ava]

My plum toms (Roma, Marlenos Roma, black ethiopian, banana cream) have not only been used to make gallons of sauce, but have also been oven dried and stored in oil and have turned out fabulously.  Maybe give that a go?

[Rosa_Mundi]

Agree with Flowerlady - it might not have been as hot as they wanted it, although I've never known that to make tomatoes gritty. The normal cause of grittiness (as far as there is one) would be being under-ripe; that can make texture unpleasant. Perhaps try another variety next year, one that you know to do well locally?

[jennym]

I think I know what you mean about a sandy texture. This is normal when compared to eating tomatoes, and is the main reason why the larger plum tomatoes are so good for cooking, as it helps them hold shape. It disappears when cooked. A member of my family made almost the same comment, when they pinched some and ate them raw.
For eating, I think one of the best is Sungold, which is orange when ripe.

[supersprout]

Emma Jane, can you give instructions for drying tomatoes please? :P

[vaca]

The normal cause of grittiness (as far as there is one) would be being under-ripe; that can make texture unpleasant. Perhaps try another variety next year, one that you know to do well locally?

Thanks for all the answers. I picked them when they were a dark deep red colour so am pretty sure that they were ripe. Next year I'll sow some myself from seed. I've seen some San Marzano tomatoes on Seeds of Italy, has anyone tried them? wasn't sure it they grew well in the UK or not.

and thanks for the storing suggestions, I think I'll try turning them to pulp and bottling them, will also give drying a go  :)

[beejay]

For eating, I think one of the best is Sungold, which is orange when ripe.

I would agree about Sungold, it has that little sort of acidic hit in amongst the sweetness that I love. We eat them a bit like sweets. The plum tomato that we grow is Olivade which I think is excellent, a nice firm fruit & good cropper. I do use most of them for cooking but they are good for eating too.

[daveandtara]

hi vaca,
i've made a pulp by roasting the toms with a little red wine, garlic, and pinch of sugar and salt.
then i froze it in ice cube trays to make pasta sauces or add to soups and stews etc.
i make a little more whenever there are a few more toms ripe to pick, sometimes adding peppers or whatever is ripe that day.
now i have a huge bag of cubes and can add as few or as many as i like. plus, using a variety of toms, cherry, money maker and plum, i get a really rich taste.
Tara xx

[Rosa_Mundi]

I haven't grown San Marzano personally, Vaca, but I know they did well grown in a greenhouse in Lancashire (which is usually mild but a bit dull) last year. Cleo would be a good source of information on varieties if he's around.

[Mrs Ava]

http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/yabbse/index.php/topic,12882.0.html

The link to oven drying your toms!  I have a huge jar full now and could eat the lot like sweeties!!

[fraser]

Vaca,

I grew San Marzano II from seeds of Italy this year and have mixed results. I have some lovely looking toms, bgut also some with the sandpaper effect the same as yourself. This seemed to only occur on the smaller ones as the larger ones all seem to have smooth skins.

Another thing I notced is that they seem very dry with not much juice eventhough I watered regularly.

These were grown I my conservatory and greenhouse in herefrodshire so the climate is not a problem.

Hope this helps

Cheers

Fraser

[EmmaLou]

My plum tomatoes didn't get any bigger than 2cm. Was it the variety or something I did wrong?

They do taste great, but the skins are a bit thick and I got fed up with peeling the skins off (just a bit fiddly!) I now just throw them to the guinea pig whilst I'm pottering in the greenhouse. He sits by the door waiting for them! Bless.

[lancelotment]

I've grown Tornado (F1) this year.  Small bush type.  None of the toms are of any size (golf ball size max.) but there are hundreds of them and I'm quite pleased with that for an outdoor variety and quite tasty.  I picked half a carrier bag full at the weekend and now have something to do with them all.  Can't wait.  Thanks for the link to the cooking instructions EJ.  Lance

[Rose.mary]

Hi Everybody!
I have just got back from visiting friends in Southern Italy, a small village called Montemiletto.I helped one of the neighbours to make juice from his tomatoes as I wanted to know how to do it.
Take 100 kg of any tomatoes(mixed will do) to make approx 70 (salad cream sized) bottles of juice.
This was done outside in the sun. He boiled the tomatoes in a very large cauldron for a few mins and then transfered them to a machine that looked a bit like a mincer. He put the pulp through 3 times to extract all the juice and then put the juice into bottles with a basil leaf, he then put all the bottles into a large oildrum and filled it with water. When the water came to the boil he added a few potatoes and when the potatoes were cooked the tomatoes were ready. He then left it till the next day to cool down.
By the way he also let me bottle my own tomatoes by removing the the skin and the seeds, half fill a bottle ,add a basil leaf, fill to the top until you can not put any more in, and then boil (don't forget the potato  ;)) leave to cool and Bobs your uncle.
Rosemary