What tomato is the "Ugly Tomato"

[habitat_gardener]

Originally Posted by lakelady

... Mom's from Italy and she informed me she only saw and ate red tomatoes her whole life, and isn't changing now. <sigh>...

That's funny, because this year I got a bunch of tomato varieties that were originally in an Italian lady's garden. When she died, her daughter saved the seeds from her beautiful garden and, along with a bunch of other volunteers, grew seedlings and sold them to raise money for a cause her mom supported (YMCA camp for kids). And what color was that old Italian lady's favorite tomato? Black!! It's called Maska's Favorite.

But I did also get some terrific red varieties at that sale: Croatia Joanna, Sicilian, "Cour di Albegnia" (Cuor d'Albenga?).

[lakelady]

I don't know if they are producing blacks nowadays over there, but I guess red was always the traditional tomato color in the past...and perhaps pink (all are red according to my mom). She's a very opinionated woman lol ! I have recently disovered black tomatoes at markets the past two years and love them. I think if she just tries a few that I plan to grow next year, she just might discover she likes them. I hope. They have a rich flavor that I cannot imagine her not liking. She doesn't like mild or sweet sweet tomatoes so much, but neither do I as all my life, the tomatoes and sauce were very robust.

It's pretty neat that you got your tomatoes from that little old Italian lady, I love the history and stories surrounding the passing of seeds (or plants) !

[ContainerTed]

Lakelady, your mom needs to taste either or both of the varieties Cherokee Purple and Indian Stripe. I see more converts from "only red and round" after introducing those. Some folks have even said they only want the purple ones now.

You could soften up the resistance and fabricate a story about how San Marzano has introduced something totally new and much better.

I wonder if your mom may simply be yanking your chain. Perhaps she is using the old adage that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I believe ugly is also only in the eye of the beholder. I love to grow the most beautiful tomatoes in color and shape, but have no guarantee they will taste good. If I want the best taste, I have to include the "ugly" varieties for comparison, so maybe I should grow some ugly tomatoes also.

A good analogy may be the Chinese Shar-Pei dog. The ugliest and the most beautiful breed of dogs at the same time.

Ted

[brokenbar]

Carolyn, I had previously read somewhere that Ugly was a cross of Costoluto Genovese and something else? I grew these (and now I cannot remember where I got the seed...) They were not as ribbed as CG and had much more moisture. They were about 1/3 larger than my strain of CG. I also thought that the taste was not nearly as "twangy" as CG. CG is most often partly hollow and Ugly was not hollow at all. And finally, CG produces like crazy with tomatoes top to bottom and in large clusters of fruit. Ugly was not even close in terms of overall production.

[lakelady]

I do have Black Brandywine on my list for 2012, and added Indian Stripe. If I can get my hands on some Ugly seeds, I'll plant them too, but I do have Costoluto Genovese on the list as well. As much as she enjoys being difficult, I'm sure once I have grown them, and put them on a plate with herbs and olive oil and garlic, she will try them . I also have some dwarfs I am growing this winter and one is Tasmanian Chocolate, so out of desparation for a fresh tomato when the snow is on the ground, I'm quite sure she will eat one (lol). Beauty is in the eye of the beholder for sure, and to satisfy her on that front, I'm sure I'll get a few big ugly something or others next year for her too

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by brokenbar

Carolyn, I had previously read somewhere that Ugly was a cross of Costoluto Genovese and something else? I grew these (and now I cannot remember where I got the seed...) They were not as ribbed as CG and had much more moisture. They were about 1/3 larger than my strain of CG. I also thought that the taste was not nearly as "twangy" as CG. CG is most often partly hollow and Ugly was not hollow at all. And finally, CG produces like crazy with tomatoes top to bottom and in large clusters of fruit. Ugly was not even close in terms of overall production.

I wish I had the time to go through my faves list, which numbers in the thousands, in order to find the article about Ugly, NOT Uglyripe tomatoes, but I wonder if that article even transferred from a previous computer.

No, Ugly was not a cross. The business was started by a woman in her backyard and she used something she got from somewhere, and probably named it Ugly for PR purposes. The article said it was Italian in origin and there never was a mention of any crosses being involved.

Those who grew it , as far as I can remember, never compared it with any of the known Costolutos, and in a post above I was able to find a picture of it and gave the link.

But it is gently ribbed and not the same shape , really, of a Costoluto known variety.

I did a Google search for Ugly but all I come up with are links to Uglyripe and the fight between the Procacci's and the FL Tomato commision.

I just looked in the 2011 SSE YEarbook and one person says "gracefulkly ribbed, 3.5 " beefsteak and the other person says a globe.

Eight hours have elasped since I started this post, trust me. you don't want to know what happened here today.