Topic: sungold a red alterntive

[johhnyco15]

ok we have all grown to love sungold however this year i having been trying to find the holy grail a red tom as sweet as sungold well i think i might have found one  but its pink  pink charmer it  is nearly as sweet as sungold when its very ripe has anyone else found a red rival to the tom of gold

[byrd2park]

whats the big fixation with red tomatoes.  a good sweet tasting tomato is good sweet tomato no matter what color it is.

[squeezyjohn]

There is definitely a different kind of taste with red and yellow fruited tomatoes ... I find the same with red and yellow raspberry varieties and definitely in red and yellow beetroots too.  The red ones just taste more ... I dunno ... red!

[johhnyco15]

firstly let me be the first to welcome you to a4a i hope you find as much fun as i have  now  regarding the post i grow all different types of tomatoes for different dishes salads and sauces as i put in my post i have found a pink variety nearly as sweet as sungold picture this if you will a plate of red and green lettuce red and white onion green and white cucumbers black and green olives and orange red and pink tomatoes topped with feta cheese raspberry vinegar  pink rock salt  and black pepper maybe now you get the idear why to some people  colour taste and texture are all important  and if friends on here can help me achieve my goal of perfection on a plate (in my eyes) then i will ask and be grateful of any help i receive with open arms hope this answers your question

[galina]

One of the principles behind 'healthy eating' is 'eating the rainbow'.  This means we should not just get our 5-a-day but they should be different colours too.  Because different colours signal different nutrients.

Therefore the colour of our tomatoes does matter and it is easy to eat the rainbow when we have so many choices available. 

http://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/110308p34.shtml

[peanuts]

Interesting, Galina, are you actually saying that  different coloured tomatoes will therefore have different nutrients? I would have thought, with no knowledge, that the 'eating the rainbow' advice was aimed at helping you therefore eat a range of different veg Same veg with different colours can't give you the same range of nutrients, surely?

[BarriedaleNick]

Red toms would have more Lycopene which is often touted as a good thing - an antioxidant and maybe has some effect on certain cancers

[squeezyjohn]

Interesting, Galina, are you actually saying that  different coloured tomatoes will therefore have different nutrients? I would have thought, with no knowledge, that the 'eating the rainbow' advice was aimed at helping you therefore eat a range of different veg Same veg with different colours can't give you the same range of nutrients, surely?

Actually as Nick says with lycopenes - it's true for the whole range of chemicals that give the vegetables their colour too ... anthocyanins for purple, beta carotene for yellow and so on ... I think that may account for the subtle differences in flavour I've noticed too.  Eating the rainbow is a great term for it.

[galina]

Interesting, Galina, are you actually saying that  different coloured tomatoes will therefore have different nutrients? I would have thought, with no knowledge, that the 'eating the rainbow' advice was aimed at helping you therefore eat a range of different veg Same veg with different colours can't give you the same range of nutrients, surely?

Yes, that's right.  There is a nutritional difference between yellow and red tomatoes.  Recently we have also got purple tomatoes (for example Indigo Rose) we can buy seeds for and that brings an extra group of nutrients (anthocyanin) in tomato package.  And green-when-ripe (Green Zebra etc) tomatoes have yet another nutrient content.

A multicolour tomato salad is nutritionally superior to a uniform red tomato salad   

[johhnyco15]

Interesting, Galina, are you actually saying that  different coloured tomatoes will therefore have different nutrients? I would have thought, with no knowledge, that the 'eating the rainbow' advice was aimed at helping you therefore eat a range of different veg Same veg with different colours can't give you the same range of nutrients, surely?

Yes, that's right.  There is a nutritional difference between yellow and red tomatoes.  Recently we have also got purple tomatoes (for example Indigo Rose) we can buy seeds for and that brings an extra group of nutrients (anthocyanin) in tomato package.  And green-when-ripe (Green Zebra etc) tomatoes have yet another nutrient content.

A multicolour tomato salad is nutritionally superior to a uniform red tomato salad   

i could not agree more

[byrd2park]

this tomato colour chart might be helpful

[Jayb]

Suncherry Premium F1 is about as good as they come in my book, excellent production and healthy plants too. They are certainly on a par sweet-wise but, though they taste great, they don't quite have the same tang combination as Sungold. I find Sweet Aperitif are also excellent as are Piccolo F1 and Floridity F1, which for me, are all way up there as must grows.

I've not tried Pink Charmer, but I'll keep a look out for some seeds, thanks for the tip.

[Tee Gee]

I'm too much of a traditionalist............they have to be red for me........fleshy and not too sweet...........I grew some Black Russian this year and I haven't eaten one...they looked revolting.........but then again: "its each to their own"

[BarriedaleNick]

I grew Back Russian this year and they are lovely - a good tasting tom, prolific and a heritage variety too.
Give them a try in a salad - well worth it.

[johhnyco15]

I'm too much of a traditionalist............they have to be red for me........fleshy and not too sweet...........I grew some Black Russian this year and I haven't eaten one...they looked revolting.........but then again: "its each to their own"

tg you old stick in the mud there is an exciting world of flavours and colours just waiting for you to try my friend go be a devil try one for tea lol

[Tee Gee]

I'm too much of a traditionalist............they have to be red for me........fleshy and not too sweet...........I grew some Black Russian this year and I haven't eaten one...they looked revolting.........but then again: "its each to their own"

tg you old stick in the mud there is an exciting world of flavours and colours just waiting for you to try my friend go be a devil try one for tea lol

To tell you the truth guys I have a number of fads when it comes to eating veg...I don't particularly like raw Cucumber,Celery, and sweet Tomatoes to name a few yet when they are cooked as an additive in some dishes I find them OK.
 
I shudder to think what I would be like if I wanted to become a vegan.

Looking at your photo Johnny Would I be correct in saying that you like tomatoes.?

We quite often use my surplus tomatoes and the veg I don't particularly like in soups, ratatouille, and sauces.

The ratatouille is sometimes used as a stuffing in my peppers. Sometimes we curry or chilli the ratatouille to spice it up, or use it as a veg dressing on baked potatoes.

I absolutely hate runner beans and that dates back to 1959 when I was in digs in Bromsgrove and the landlady grew runner beans. All her lodgers and me got great heaps of sometimes stringy beans on our dinner plate every night..........not very nice after a hard days work......now and again OK but every night 

When I used to grow them I always picked them very young when they were nice and tender and stringless.

Give me French beans any time.

Regarding the Black Russians I have found that this year most of my  tomatoes have been quite poor, they have taken so long to ripen and as a result the skins are a bit leathery.

Now that there is a spurt on in with the ripening I am finding many are splitting, particularly the cherry types.

 Many of my tomatoes are a bit watery tasting which is not normal with the varieties I grow and what with this and what would be called ' greenback' on red/ yellow tomatoes the Black Russians certainly did not look very appetising, and looked even worse when we skinned them, so we threw them out!

Perhaps in an other year things might have been different!

A stick in the mud? Maybe so! but it does not stop me having my five a day veg on my plate.

[Digeroo]

Found this about the different colours

http://www.eufic.org/article/en/show/spotlight/rid/colours-of-fruits-and-vegetables-and-health/

[pumkinlover]

Very interesting article, I have book marked it for future  reference. Thank you.

[johhnyco15]

Suncherry Premium F1 is about as good as they come in my book, excellent production and healthy plants too. They are certainly on a par sweet-wise but, though they taste great, they don't quite have the same tang combination as Sungold. I find Sweet Aperitif are also excellent as are Piccolo F1 and Floridity F1, which for me, are all way up there as must grows.

I've not tried Pink Charmer, but I'll keep a look out for some seeds, thanks for the tip.

taken note of said varieties and will strive to give them a go over the next couple of seasons thanks for the input

[John85]

Mexican Honey has also a nice flavour and is very sweet