Does the tomato variety "Carolina" still exist.

[michael johnson]

I was reading on Wikipedia the other day about a gourmet variety of tomato called "Carolina" which is open pollinated and mainly grown in France years ago.

The flavor was supposed to be superb and much revered by monks and gentry etc , who used to cultivate it for special culinary dishes.

Does anyone know if this tomato is now extinct or is there still a few grown, and/or is there any seed available today -and from where

[bluelytes]

MICHAEL,
Reimerseeds has a variety "carolina gold", it may be a "gold" variety of your carolina you are seeking.

best;
blue

[Tomstrees]

I grew a hybrid named carolina gold
in 2000 ... nothing special ...

~ Tom

[artis]

Michael,

I am also desperately trying to find more about this legendary (according to Wikipedia) variety. When I googled it, nothing other than the text from Wikipedia came up. Could it be that the name of this variety is misspelled in Wikipedia? Could it be a joke? I am also quite certain that 'Carolina Gold' has absolutely nothing to do with the mystical 'Carolina'.

I have noticed that relatively few European tomato varieties are actually available in the USA. Even a famous (and very tasty) tomato like Marmande is listed in just a few seed catalogs.

Artis

[LoreD]

I found a type offered by Terre de Semences called Caro-Red. Since I couldn't find a description in their catalog I looked in the Garden Seed Inventory and at that time the only American distributor was Sand Hill. I checked their site and they no longer stock it.

I hope this description fits:

Caro-Red 78-86 days, Indet., deep carrot-orange flesh, 6 oz., semi-acid, distinct flavor, resembles Rutgers from Purdue.

Its an OP variety but doesn't seem to offered in the U.S. and has to be ordered from Europe.

I checked the USDA/Grin listing and they didn't have anything on "Carolina tomato."

LoreD

[carolyn137]

Caro Red, Caro Rich ( orange) and Caro Double ( orange) have long been offered in the SSE Yearbooks and the first two at some websites at one time or another.

And none of those would have been grown by monestery dwellers in France, I can assure you.

Carolina Gold is an F1 hybrid, as has been pointed out. and that wouldn't be it either.

I haven't had time to look thru my back SSE Yearbooks, but even wonder if Carolina is the name this variety is known by in France. If I knew what color this Carolina was it would make it easier to track down in the SSE Yearbooks, even if I do get the time.

Since all my faves are at AOL and I'm here on MSN, I don't have my link to Ventmarin here, so I think someone should take a good look at that website and see what you can find as regards older OP French varieties that are spelled Carolina or similar.

[michael johnson]

According to Wikipedia a San-Diego Bio tech company took the tomato and is trying to genetically modify it so that it can be grown in other geographical locations- which surprises me as tomatoes are usually very adaptable and obliging .
Wikipedia also states that the tomato has the tanginess of Brandywine- whilst being somewhat like early Swedish varieties.

But other than that it seems it is normally grown in certain areas of France and Belgium, and they eat it with special dishes (I was horrified ) of cooked and roasted song birds,

I am pretty sure its not the Carolina Gold on general offer.

But it seems we are all missing out on a gourmet tomato that somehow seems to have escaped most collectors and seed savers etc,

The fact that it describes the taste as tangy like a Brandywine- ( I didn't know Brandywine was thought of as being tangy) -more a mellow sweetness .

If it is lost to cultivation its a great pity,( But I am pretty sure it isn't) then a trip to France might be in the offing in summer 2007 to localized areas, other than that the San-Diego Bio tech company might be able to help, as they seem to have gone to a lot of trouble to obtain it.

I had a look at the Ventmarin web site- and it lists ( Carolena- and Carolina Hybrid but unfortunately I cant read French very well so I don't know if that's it .

[carolyn137]

Carolena
Round red fruit appreciably flattened. In bunch of 7 fruits. Average depression with the peduncular fastener. 5 sepals. Variety adapted well to the culture except ground.

.......from the Ventmarin site. All one has to do is to click on "translate site to English" at the Google site where the link appears.

If this "gourmet" variety were that well known I'm sure that there would be much more written about it than scattered references, since the French really like their tomatoes. And I can't think of another site that has as many French varieties listed than the Ventmarin site.

A spelling of Carolena does make more sense to me than Carolina, for a French variety.

For those who are interested perhaps an e-mail to the owner of the Ventmarin site might be helpful to see if more is known about Carolena.

[michael johnson]

Its a very interesting subject- and requires much more detailed research , but well worth going into.

A TV member e-mailed me to say that the Ventmarin web site doesnt actually sell tomatoes or seed- just references to many different types of tomatoes- shame!

But thank's anyway to all those who contributed info to the search, - I wonder which Bio tech company in S.D. they are referring to.

[mdvpc]

I pm'd Michael to see if he wanted me to contact a Belgium tomato friend I have whom I knew had contacts with French seed-savers. I did, and my friend thinks Carolina red is a Spanish variety and directed me to the Ventmarin site. He had no other information.