Favorite Anthocyanin Tomato

[Al@NC]

I'm curious which variety you guys would call your favorite Anthocyanin variety? I've grown Indigo Rose in the past (wasn't the greatest) and this season I grew Painted Pink. I haven't grown any Antho tomatoes larger than cherry size but I'm curious if anyone likes any of the large Antho tomatoes...

Painted Pink isn't a bad tomato but I'm curious if I'm missing out on a great variety that others have tried.

Al

[Barry12]

I grew Black Beauty from Wild Boar Farms this past year. It was the most beautiful tomato in my garden.From seed to harvest it had the darkest green stems. Taste was just OK for my liking.

Barry

[Cole_Robbie]

I much prefer the yellow antho varieties, like Bosque Blue Bumblebee, Yamali Yellow, and Amethyst Cream.

[NarnianGarden]

I have only grown three so far (DWSmurfs, Ind Rose, and Amethyst Cream cherry) and I cannot really recommend any of them for taste. For beautiful looks, yes..
Amethyst cream is Ok when really ripe and yellowed, but likely not going to return next year.

[KarenO]

Amethyst jewel is the best tasting full size atho variety I have grown. bosque blue bumblebee is the best tasting antho cherry I have tried. Helsing ★★★★★★★★ blues is very pretty as well but bbb tastes better imo

[Cole_Robbie]

Originally Posted by NarnianGarden

Amethyst cream is Ok when really ripe and yellowed, but likely not going to return next year.

I'm not going to grow it again, either. For some reason the bugs seem to like it more than other varieties. The fruit are too small for me as well, lots of work to pick and fill up a box slowly.

I tried what I think are all the Yamalis this year (thanks to a generous seed swapper): Yellow, Red, Brown, Blue and Green. I had horrible cracking on all of them except the Yamali Yellow. It was the only one I saved. It is a little sweeter than Bosque Blue Bumblebee, which is a paler, whiter shade of yellow.

[AlittleSalt]

We like Helsing ★★★★★★★★ Blue and Dancing with Smurfs because they make a simple side-salad very attractive looking. Both also cause a lot of pleasant gardening conversation.

[Urbanheirlooms]

My favorite by far this year was Lucid Gem. It was very productive (still producing small tomatoes) and the taste was great. The looks speak for themselves.



My second favorite this year was Indigo Apple. Very good taste. Outstanding looks. This one is still producing in my garden as well.


Like AlittleSalt, I grew Helsing ★★★★★★★★ Blue and agree with their assessment. This is another variety that won't give up this late in the season. By far the most productive tomato that I grew and still going. Taste wasn't bad either.


I also agree with Barry12 on the Black Beauty. It was okay tasting, but did not produce well at all and I had issues with low production.

[AZGardener]

Wow- Stunning pictures UrbanHeirlooms! I think I need to grow Helsing ★★★★★★★★ Blues just for the beauty!

[Al@NC]

I just looked up Lucid Gem on the WBF websites and Gates makes quite the claim about this tomato:

(Last night i ate some that were picked 27 days ago and where excellent. This is an amazing variety.

http://shop.wildboarfarms.com/LUCID-GEM-LUCIDGEM.htm

That's some pretty good storing ability!

Al

[Fred Hempel]

Well, based on my own failure with a few Anthocyanin tomatoes this year, I am back off the bandwagon.

I got on last year after tasting someone elses Indigo Cherry Drops.

Which is why I will view this thread with the same interest as the "What is your favorite Lima Bean?" thread.

While there may be secrets to picking at exactly the right stage, and to growing so that the fruits don't go from ripe to soft too soon, I am skeptical that tomatoes with anthocyanin can grown consistently well, with harvests that are abundant enough to make them worthwhile for everyone, with the exception of the Blue tomato experts.

[Cole_Robbie]

My Helsing ★★★★★★★★ Blues was attacked by birds. It was like the Hitchcock movie. It's the only variety I have ever lost to bird attack.

[clara]

For me, the very best antho variety (and I've grown a lot) is Sgt. Pepper's - an exceptional beauty AND very tasty, full size, lovely hearts. Friends have experienced less antho expression in a hot climate, but the same wonderful taste. No cracking, no disease - it will be back a third and forth... year!

#2 is Shadow Boxing Type 4 (yes, it must be type 4), smaller than Sgt. Pepper's, like an elongated cherry, looking for some time like a mini eggplant. Every single tomato is looking a bit different from the others, all are works of art! No cracking, no disease.

#3 is Glossy Rose Blue. A vigorous plant with large trusses of cherries which are almost black in the beginning and really sparkling in the sun. When the ripening starts, the belly is first yellow, then turns into pink and finally, when fully ripe, the black also turns into a deep pink. At some point you have all stages of ripeness on the plant - nobody in my garden could pass it without talking about it. And yes, fully ripe, it is sweet. The skin is very thin, but I only had a few cracking after a heavy rainfall.

[oakley]

I'm on board with the 'off' folk. After a few years of confusion. It seems to be an ornamental with not much taste, or confusing taste/flavor.

I'm not giving up because the group does have culinary qualities. After this 2016 harvest like no other this past summer, with 60+ varieties and a good amount of 'smalls', cherries, (a dozen)....i've been exploring the multiple ways to use these unusual tomatoes...

Firm forever, blush for weeks, rarely a split or soft even with dry/or wet conditions
Likes heat, does not mind cool nights...

So i stuffed and roasted them. I don't even care much for that dish. But they were outstanding. The mesocarp is so thick and the funicular/placenta is so easily removed and mixed with herbs and goat cheese in minutes i'm sold on the variety and looking at others with similar qualities, especially some of the greens. The crispy greens.
(i've posted this pic before somewhere...and this was just a testing...but we devoured these they were so good)...
anywho, nice to find a great use for an interesting tomato.

[Al@NC]

Oakley, do you have a variety that you like the most with antho?

I've made ketchup and sauce in the past but always de-skinned the tomatoes but this season I cleaned the tomatoes, cut off the blossom end of the tomato (while still fresh not boiled) and squeezed out the seeds. I then blended the tomatoes with a Magic Bullet juicer/blender and kept the skin. I then cooked the tomatoes down on the stove in a pot or used a crock pot to reduce them but by removing the seed gels I didn't have to reduce that long. The skins were pulverized so much by the blender that I couldn't tell they were there!

By eating the skins you consume a lot of flavenols! So I'm curious to see next season how sauce will taste with antho tomatoes with the skins blended in...

Al