Garden Peach: Hanna’s Tomato Tastings 2007

Part of Hanna’s Tomato Tastings 2007

I won’t lie. I boought this one because it is a “fuzzy” tomato. You can’t pass up garden freaks. Not ever. I wanted to see what a fuzzy tomato would look like. Didn’t really care what it might taste like, but it would be nice if it did taste good.

The description from the company I bought it from reads:

Light yellow fruits that have a fuzz to them resembling mini peaches. Some have a light pink blush when fully ripe. Plants are loaded with fruits that withstand cracking.

The Beauty Pageant:

Size: Most of them are slightly larger than a golf ball. There have been a few that were about the size of a hackey sack.

Shape: Amazingly peach like. The shape is that slightly heart shape that peaches have. While the size gives away the fact that these are not peaches, they do look alot alike. There is just a hint of blush that completes the illusion. And yes, they are fuzzy… exactly and I mean exactly like peaches are. It is a bit strange to feel.

The inside: While the seller sold this as a yellow tomato, I would rather say it is white. White tomatoes are technically a light, light yellow, which this all the way through. Very thin walls with a single round chamber and a thick round core, almost like a stuffer tomato. The gel is pretty stiff but not as stiff as a stuffer tomato. The seeds are pretty small.

Texture: The meat is nice, for what little there is and the seeds are not distracting. The fuzz on the skin makes the skin thick and noticeable in the mouth. Kind of a paper wad that lingers after the tomato meat and gel is gone.

Tasting:

Off the Vine Tasting: This tomato has a delicate flavor, which is to be expected with a white tomato. Low acid, so not much tanginess but it does have a nice essence of tomato flavor in there. You would need to be careful what you paired with it so as not to overwhelm that flavor.

Sliced and Salted Tasting: Increases the tomato flavor, but that is about it..

Cooking Thoughts: Gosh, I guess you could use it as a stuffer but I always thought that stuffers were more of a novelty plant than anything else. There is not much meat, so it is not that great for sauce. The skin is so thick, that this probably wouldn’t be the best to serve raw. So I guess this is just a novelty tomato you serve at the table so people can say “Weird, a fuzzy tomato.”

Growing Notes:
Good growth, plenty of fruit but the damn things have taken forever to ripen. I believe that these were some of the first plants in my garden to set fruit and they are only just now producing a few ripe fruit.

Will Hanna grow this one again:
No. Fun to grow as a novelty but I can’t think of a real use for it. If you have kids, they would think this was a fun tomato to grow. Plus, it is low acid so their sensitive taste buds would not be as apt to dislike the flavor.