UK Scientists Create Tomato that Stays Firm

[Salsacharley]

Oh boy! These tomatoes can be used as a substitute for baseballs and cricket balls.

http://enews.maximumyield.com/uk-sci...at-stays-firm/

[Labradors2]

Hmmm "Excellent fruit flavour" according to whom?

Yuck!

Linda

[carolyn137]

Nothing really new, we already have/had them.

Here's the one I remember most, and yes I grew it

https://agresearchmag.ars.usda.gov/1995/jul/tomatoes

The fruits sat on the counter for several months,not a wrinkle,nada, and all I could think of was the Howdy Doody Princess called

Summer Spring Winter Fall

Here's some more

https://www.google.com/search?q=long..._AUIBygA&dpr=1

Carolyn

[Worth1]

I dont think these guys have a clue about anything beyond the lab.
For one not likely to even know what a tomato even tastes like.
They more than likely have no idea how fast tomatoes move in a store or any concept of large commercial produce marketing.
Store bought tomatoes already have a long shelf life outside the store.

But I have no idea about UK tomatoes or their stores.

Worth

[Cole_Robbie]

I had a couple varieties this year that were very firm, and yet still very good to eat, a combination I did not know was possible. In slicing them, I could see that the outside wall between the skin and gel cavity was noticeably thicker. Grot, Zarca, and Sladkij Ponchik were like that.

Shelf life champion of the year was De Barao Orange. I left a big bowl of cherry tomatoes to rot, just out of laziness. The DBO was on the bottom, covered in rotten fruit, and yet when rinsed off, they were fine. Taste was pretty good, too.

[ilex]

I've got one that bounces if thrown on the floor. Harder than an apple, and good tasting. Eating it is a strange experience as you don't expect tomatoes to be hard to the point to need chewing. This one is harder than commercial hybrids.

[Gardeneer]

Yeah, the idea is not new.
I am growing one called "Long Keeper" . The tag say the fruits can be kept up to 2 months.
So Obviously these tomatoes are lacking something that lead to softening and eventually to rotting /fermentation. It could be gene or certain chemicals withing the fruits.

[Salsacharley]

Check out Fred's new one at post #364 on this thread.....

http://www.tomatoville.com/showthrea...733#post592733

[Fred Hempel]

And mine isn't GMO!

But it isn't red either...

Originally Posted by Salsacharley

Check out Fred's new one at post #364 on this thread.....

http://www.tomatoville.com/showthrea...733#post592733

[PhilaGardener]

Yes, I have been harvesting Tomatiga de Ramallet and they are pretty firm when red. Will have to see if how they seem in a few months, but I am starting to wonder how similar to supermarket tomatoes they are going to be!

[ilex]

Originally Posted by PhilaGardener

Yes, I have been harvesting Tomatiga de Ramallet and they are pretty firm when red. Will have to see if how they seem in a few months, but I am starting to wonder how similar to supermarket tomatoes they are going to be!

Not easy to answer as there are over 200 varieties known by that name, which is a generic used in Mallorca for de colgar tomatoes.

There's also a fake hybrid going around.

Usually they are not that firm. Hard skin, yes, hard flesh, uncommon. Depends a lot on particular variety. Note that main use for these is rubbing on bread, and you need soft flesh for rubbing, even it only gets soft after a couple months in storage.

Most supermarket tomatoes use different "ripening delaying" genes than de colgar tomatoes. Why? No idea. They reinvented the wheel and ended with a square.

De colgar tomatoes are very different from supermarket tomatoes.

[Worth1]

I think the natural process of rotting/softening has something to do with the flavor of a tomato.

[Salsacharley]

You may well have something there Worth. It makes sense. But if there is something that can prolong the flavor cycle it may well also be worth pursuing.

Originally Posted by Worth1

I think the natural process of rotting/softening has something to do with the flavor of a tomato.

[ilex]

Originally Posted by Salsacharley

You may well have something there Worth. It makes sense. But if there is something that can prolong the flavor cycle it may well also be worth pursuing.

There's a study about aroma in storage for de colgar tomatoes. It depends a lot on variety. Most had peak aroma between 2 and 4 months in storage. Aroma is fairly related to flavour.

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by Worth1

I think the natural process of rotting/softening has something to do with the flavor of a tomato.

If only I could find the link that shows the cascade of enzyme reactions that lead to ripenening,but I don't have time to do it.

Yes Wroth,softening of fruits is on the way to ripening, but does taste go with that?Not for me.

And as for rotting,when did you last cut open a fruit that had that black internal ripening and enjoy the taste,or eat a whole tomato from the blossom end up,that had BER at the bottom?

Knowing you,though,I suppose that anything is possible.

Carolyn