Can someone identify this "white" tomato?

[Hilde]

I went to the farmer's market today, and a lady was selling produce for her brother. She had a lot of tomatoes, and knew nothing about them (didn't seem the least interested, I could tell when I asked questions). In the area marked "heirloom" she had a few brandywines and a mystery "white" tomato that I couldn't resist trying. She did not know the name of the tomato.

I have taken pictures. The tomato was 14.8 oz, or 419 g, was very meaty with almost all fruit flesh and even less seeds than the only brandywine that I have eaten. Very few seeds. (I did save some) The taste was VERY good (although taste is subjective, I loved this tomato).

I have taken picture of the tomato alone, sliced and with my Azoychka, a yellow smaller beefsteak.

Thanks!

Hilde

[johno]

Hard to say. Great White, maybe?

[Lee]

Sometimes it's easier to narrow down what it isn't rather than what it is....

That being said, I would say it is not Hugh's, which is typically more round than
oblate.

Also, not Dr. Carolyn... but that's probably obvious!

Lee

[Hilde]

Originally Posted by Lee

Sometimes it's easier to narrow down what it isn't rather than what it is....

That being said, I would say it is not Hugh's, which is typically more round than
oblate.

Also, not Dr. Carolyn... but that's probably obvious!

Lee

Hahaha, that is funny, because I just checked my TGS catalogand thought it might be Hugh's, since it is described as very meaty.

Please come with suggestions! I love this tomato and really want to know what variety it is, or at least narrow it down. I see White Queen is described as between 8 and 12 oz, and it is bigger than that. Also, the same woman sold large white tomatoes the Saturday before also, and the biggest one there had some pink in it, which this didn't have, but they looked so similar, so I think they still might be the same variety.

This is killing me!

Hilde

[Hilde]

Originally Posted by johno

Hard to say. Great White, maybe?

Checking out pictures of Great White now....

Hilde

[carolyn137]

had some pink in it,

*****


Soooooo, what's the chance it could be Big White Pink Stripes? No true stripes. It blushes pink, but it's described as being a bit peachy colored most of the time.

Could be Big White?

Could be Yellow and White?

However, many so called white and pale yellow varieties do form a pink blush at the blossom end.

My thoughts?

You've got to track it down from the grower b'c there are just too many possibilities to be able to come close with just pictures and size. For all we know the grower could be an SSE person and the possibilities for Iding this one could be vast considering the likely ones listed in the SSE Yearbooks.

[dice]

"I see White Queen is described as between 8 and 12 oz,
and it is bigger than that."

But were they all bigger than that?

I am looking at this Peron fruit, for example,
the first one that set on the plant, and it is 5"
around and 3" thick, bigger than several
large Gregori's Altai fruit that I have harvested
this year, and bigger than the Pruden's Purples
from last year.

But it is a one-off, probably swelled by rain
(there were a few weeks of rainy weather
after it set). The rest of the fruit on the plant
are in between baseball and softball sized.

The size of your big white tomato could be a
product of unusual weather, from a cultivar
listed as producing smaller tomatoes on
average.

[Hilde]

OK hehehe.

There is really no way of knowing what that white tomato is unless I ask the brother of the woman selling at the farmer's market. She will think I am crazy if I ask for her brother's phone number, but it's worth it hehehe.

Come to think about it, she did say the name contained a lot of numbers, like NV 0000 or something, but it didn't tell me anything, so I didn't think much of it. Any white tomato variety in the SSE yearbook with numbers in the name?

Hilde

[carolyn137]

Any white tomato variety in the SSE yearbook with numbers in the name?

****

Possibly if I were to look in some back SSE Yearbooks. It sounds like and NSSL number, NSSL standing for national Seed Storagelaboratory, part of the USDA.

Actually , now that I remember it White Queen was listed with an NSSL # but what you show is not oblate ( flattened) as is White Queen.

And I can't think of anyone who would refer to a tomato variety by just the NSSL number, rather, they'd refer to it by a variety name.

I think it's best you make that phone call, or start growing out all of the so called white varieties that anyone has mentioned, but then in a different year would any of them taste the same as what you have now. Hard to say.

[Hilde]

I saved seeds, so I will be able to grow it no matter what. That is, if it really is an OP variety, and there is no cross or mutation. Anything is possible, and it is so much fun to see!

Thanks Carolyn!

Hilde

[dice]

Just grow it. Name: "Fruit Stand White".

[Hilde]

Originally Posted by dice

Just grow it. Name: "Fruit Stand White".

Good idea, dice! Want seeds?

Hilde

[dice]

"Good idea, dice!"

I was just kidding about the name. That should
probably be "Working name: Fruit Stand White,"
(so if someone reliable says "Oh, this is just
[Well-known variety]," it's not a big deal to discard
the provisional working name.

"Want seeds?"

No, thanks anyway, for two reasons. The first
is that "white" (or very pale) tomatoes do not
sound very interesting to me in general (I really
prefer red tomatoes, though I have had some
good yellow, orange, pink, and dark tomatoes).

The second reason is that I don't know how
early or late maturing it is. Late-ripening tomatoes
are a waste of garden space where I live. Without
a greenhouse, their only real use here is to collect
a bunch of pollen to cross with something much
earlier. And if I were doing that, I would probably
select a cultivar that I know a lot more about than
a mystery fruit stand white, even if it was pretty
tasty.

Good luck with it, though.

[Hilde]

Originally Posted by dice

"Good idea, dice!"

I was just kidding about the name. That should
probably be "Working name: Fruit Stand White,"
(so if someone reliable says "Oh, this is just
[Well-known variety]," it's not a big deal to discard
the provisional working name.
...

I assume you were joking, but I thought it was a good name for it, and I will use it until I know the real name! When I grow it I will get to know a lot more about it.
Spring can't come soon enough!

Too bad you live so far away, dice!

Hilde

[dice]

I'll tell you what: PM me your address, and I'll send
you some seed from a mystery black tomato that came
up from what were supposed to be yellow cherry seeds
this year, and if you like you can grow it side-by-side
with the white tomato (assuming that you intend to plant
seeds from it and see how it does).

The "black" tomato was actually dark reddish
brown, with green shoulders when ripe, and a
fine speckling of yellow or gold dots on it. It
was very sweet and tasty (I finally know now
what people mean by tomatoes with "creamy"
flavor). It doesn't keep well, so one needs to
eat them as soon as they are ripe, but the flavor
is exceptionally good. 4-8 oz fruit with an
occasional bigger one. (I have only grown it this
year, so I don't know yet whether it is a stable
variety.)

It was not early, but not exceptionally late, either.
I would guess it ripened on a par with what are
described as 65-70 day tomatoes ("early mid-season").

When people ask what they are, you can say
"Yin and Yang".