White Currant Tomato: Hanna’s Tomato Tastings 2008
Part of Hanna’s Tomato Tastings 2008
This little tomato here has the unique distinction of being the very first tomato that I will eat from my garden. To be honest, I am really hoping it is not a good tomato as these will be the only tomatoes I will probably get from this plant and I will be pissed if it is a good tomato.
The plant is suffering severely from wilt and is near dead. These 3 little tomatoes were all it could give in its short lifetime. And it was my own fault. I planted this plant in a bed I knew had wilt. A funny thing happened this year. I grew and ordered the tomatoes I knew I had room for. But, because people know I do these reviews, they started to give me other tomato plants as well. I ran out of clean beds and this little plant, despite being a gift, went into the only spot left in the vegetable bed that was open. It is now suffering the consequences.
The description from the company I got it from reads:
They are another wild type with tiny shape and lots of tomato flavor that has a sweet, tangy flavor as its name suits it well. This is another heirloom that will re-seed itself if you plant it where you can identify its “volunteers” later. Indet.
The Beauty Pageant:
Size: Teeny tiny tiny. I think that there should be a new classification of tomatoes and that is the uber-cherry. This tomato fits in that category.
Shape:Round and a bit bigger than a pea. While the name says that these are white tomatoes, their color is pretty solidly yellow.
The inside: Tiny cherry can’t help but be seedy and this is not an exception. That being said, the seeds are some of the smallest I have ever seen in a tomato. Thin walls and small core. What else can you expect when they are this small?
Texture: They have the typical cherry gush and pop when you bite into them. The seeds are small enough and the tomato is small enough that you don’t feel that your mouth is full of seeds though.
Tasting:
Off the Vine Tasting: Surprising for what is billed as a white tomato. Whites tend to be bland and this little one is not. The juice is very tangy and is quickly follow up by a sweet flavor from the meat. The flavor dissipates quickly because the tomato is so small.
Sliced and Salted Tasting: Salt just kills the flavor. It evens everything out rather than heightening it. You lose the tangy/sweet mix and just have bleh.
Cooking Thoughts: You could not cook these. Way too small. They would be good in a salad but only if you did not have a salty cheese on the salad. One thing I could see using these for is to put out a bowl of them like they are peanuts at a party. These would allow people to taste them without having the opportunity to ruin the flavor with the traditional tomato salting.
Growing Notes:
As mentioned, this plant is sick and dying so I cannot say to much on how it is growing. It succumbed to wilt incredibly fast.
Will Hanna grow this one again:
Damn it, I do want to. Not fair to have such a small sample. I would like to grow this one again in a non-infected space so that I could have a bowl full at a party.
Oh boy! The tomato tastings are back! The tomato tastings are back!
I’m growing several new varieties this year thanks to your tastings. You really have cornered the market on tomato expertise! Great job!
Robin
Gardening Examiner
My husband went out and picked our 1st ripe tomatoe this afternoon. I planted it, watered it, loved it and he ate it. go figure.
Very interesting….
Sigh. My tomato plants are still knee high–I think there’s something funky about our topsoil. I don’t know if we’ll have homegrown tomatoes this year. So I may just have to live vicariously through the tomato tastings.
hannah, are they supposed to be that small or is that a result of the sick plant? also do these taste similar to the clementines?
my clementine plants from seeds you sent out last year are growing well!
no, they are suppose to be that small. I just will not get many due to the sick plant. 🙁
I would say the clementines had a fruitier taste. These are just tangy and sweet.
Hmm..I don’t know if they’re of the same variety but my father planted a single white tomato plant(whose “fruit” looked like those in the picture) this year, which died miserably after producing ca. 20 tomatos.
Maybe it’s just a delicate species?
I never salt my tomatoes. (My grandpa may have. He salted cantaloupes! I don’t do that either.) I like fresh fruit and vegges to munch on so the taste test for me is how it tastes fresh from the garden and also how well the taste holds up after it’s been on the counter or in the fridge a couple of days, since I always seem to have more to pick than I can eat at once.
This sounds like one I would like to try. Seeds don’t bother me and these sound fine. Tangy is good! The size makes it quite munchable.
Ah! Now I’m hungry for fresh tomatoes! Ours got in late and won’t be ready for a while.
Just checking out this tomato after a friend told me about it; she is enjoying the heck out of it. Can’t wait to try it next year. Check out my cherry tomato post while you’re at it.
Thanks………..Rhonda
I ordered seeds of these for next year, to go with my red and orange currants. Maybe it was even here that I found out about this variety – I couldn’t remember where I first read about them.
I’ve found there is a way to cook currant tomatoes, though – just quickly frying them – whole – in a little oil. Yummy as a side dish or mixed with pasta. Actually, I just posted a picture of that on my blog, even though the post in question wasn’t about tomatoes: http://ivynettle.wordpress.com/2010/07/19/who-are-you-where-did-you-come-from-and-where/
I am growing these right now. It is my first time growing any currant type of tomatoes.
I have one plant in the ground and another in a pot. Both are doing well, but the one in the ground is huge (8ft+) with hundreds of fruits on it. The one in the container is staying small (3ft) but is producing only a few dozen fruit.
These have become my favorite tomato to eat just off of the plant. They have an amazing tangy/sweet tomato flavor. These tiny tomatoes pack a huge flavor.
I’m already planning on growing these again next year. I plan to put a few more in the ground. These tomatoes are just as good as grapes. I’ve been keeping a bowl of them on my desk at work for everyone to try – and everyone loves them.
I also tried a red currant tomato, but that crop failed. I did get a few though, that were delicious as well. I’m going to try them again next year as well.
I received seeds for these tomato plants about three yrs ago. I tried them out because it said they made an excellent snack food and they could be dried like raisins. They were an absolute hit! I gave away about twenty plants. This year we have all been struggling to find them again. Alas, I have more growing. They produce buckets full and will keep growing and producing until after your first light frost or two. We are in zone 6 and they will reseed (that is how we found more)! This year the first couple of handfuls have been designated to seed saving. They are worth all efforts of growing.