White Tomesol Tomato: Hanna’s Tomato Tastings 2009
Part of Hanna’s Tomato Tastings 2009
I am not a white tomato fan. They tend to be bland because they tend to low acid. Great for people with acid reflux issues but not so much for my particular palet.
But, I am hopeful for this one. First, it was recommended by my tomato plant supplier. She knows her tomatoes and she generally makes great suggestions. After all, she found a cherry tomato that I could like and before this, I had never tried a cherry tomato I liked.
And, I have found others who speak highly of it. So, I will leave my white tomato prejudices behind and see if we can’t lift the segregation in my vegetable garden.
The description from the company I got it from reads:
Our fruits were smooth, flattened, oblate beefsteaks and weighing in around 8 oz. They were of the palest yellow….well, almost white….with light pink striping on the outside. Slices were the palest yellow with a pink trim, very pretty. Very unique and very pleasant tasting.
The Beauty Pageant:
Size: About as wide as my palm, and a few inches tall.
Shape: A flatish tomato with a slightly lumpy top.
Color: Very, very pale yellow. It was interesting watching this tomato ripen. Because it is so pale, it was like watching a ball of green water drain the water out.
The inside: There are many, many chambers . It looks like a beefsteak inside. The inner walls are thicker than the outer walls. Medium number of seeds.
Texture: Soft texture but firm give to the meat. Not mealy, but not silky either. I am not really fond of the texture, but it is not really bad either. There is not too much gel and what is there is pretty firm.
Tasting:
Off the Vine Tasting: Very tangy for a white tomato. The gel is very strong on flavor. Not so much a normal tomato flavor, though there is plenty of tomato flavor in it. It is like a tomato with lemon flavor to it to. Like a tomato lemonade. The meat is pretty flavorful as well. Still lemony but weaker and a bit sweeter. But, even on its own, the meat tastes pretty good.
Sliced and Salted Tasting: Salt tones down the tomato flavor and really kicks up the lemon flavor.
Cooking Thoughts: This would make a nice “conversation piece†tomato. Is it the best tomato you could offer company, no. But it is the best white tomato that I have tried. So, because it is interesting looking and not bad tasting, your guests will marvel if they see this on their plate. The lemon flavor would also play well with basil for a caprese salad.
Growing Notes:
The plant is in pretty poor shape. This was a plant that was particularly ravaged by the bandits. They did not do any obvious damage to the plant, but I wonder if them pulling tomatoes off the plant opened up the plant to a virus or disease. I will be lucky to get 1 more tomato off this plant before it is gone.
Will Hanna grow this one again:
Maybe. Not bad but I have had better. I will keepit in the back of my mind if I ever am looking for an interesting tomato to fill a spot.
I live and learn, I always thought ‘whit’ or pale tomatoes were unripe ones! I.m making a note to try this another year, thank you.
ooooh so glad the tomato tastings are finally on the way. Less happy to hear the currently mentioned bush has been so severely savaged. I have some white tomesol tomatoes growing in the winter indoor tomato experiment. Less chance of critter damage, more chance of just plain dying/not fruiting due to ineptitude mixed with bravado. Just wondering, how thick was the skin? The only white tomato I grew had obscenely thick skin, which was a total downer in my books. All the best with the rest of the tomato growing and look forward to the next installment!
This is very interesting to me. We were offered some white tomato seed this year and I declined because space is limited and I also hadn’t tasted one that I felt competed with other tomatoes.
I wonder if this one would be good with fish, which is often overwhelmed by the flavour of a red tomato? Perhaps I’ll try those white tomato seeds next year after all …
Very interested in this post. I am patiently waiting on my White Tomasol ripening, or draining as you put it 🙂 I only managed to get one plant to this stage, and it seems a bit fragile with only a few fruits.Here’s hoping we get to do a taste test too. Thanks.
I am give Lemon Boys every year by a friend who starts them. I enjoy the change of pace from other tomatoes, so I keep letting him give them to me!
Great review on this tomato. I will pass on it, although the idea of having it with fish is intriguing…
My favorite tomato from my garden this year is a white. Big White Pink Stripe. It has a pink blush and a tropical mango-like flavor (seeds from tomatofest.com). LOVE IT!!!