What are some "Sweet" varieties?

[jflournoy]

I did a ton of research this Winter to plant some really good Heirloom varieties this year. Ended up planting a few plants each of over 70 varieties, a little more than half of which we have now harvested and tried/tested. I recall there were descriptions of multiple varieties that called them "sweet". Maybe a "sweet" tomato is like a "candy" onion, not exactly "sweet", and not exactly "candy". I don't know, but I do know of the more than 30 varieties we've harvested and tasted, I have been disappointed again and again at how few were even less acidic, much less actually had a hint of sweet flavor. I know everyone's "tastes" are different, mine tends towards really liking a "sweet" tomato. I'm talking SunSugar sweet (which we grow and really like). We have yet to try an heirloom beefsteak of any kind this year that is even half as sweet as SunSugar cherry, although there have been a few that had a mild hint of sweetness.

Can someone give me some recommendations for "full-size" heirloom tomato varieties that are actually sweet, similar to SunSugar, or maybe even close?

Thanks!

[Worth1]

Can someone give me some recommendations for "full-size" heirloom tomato varieties that are actually sweet, similar to SunSugar, or maybe even close?

You might as well be looking for Prester John, Atlantis or El Dorado.
I would give anything for a large tomato that tasted like sungold or sunsugar.

When you find it let me know.

Worth

[Fusion_power]

There are no tomatoes currently available that hit brix of 12 or higher which is the range Sungold and similar varieties hit.

I grew one experimental line this year that gave 3 ounce elongated fruit that were in that range. It is not stable and has several flaws such as serious cracking to deal with. I also harvested fruit and saved seed from one plant similar to Little Lucky in the 6 to 8 ounce range that would hit 9 or 10 brix.

There are a couple of genes that can be manipulated to increase sugar content in ripe fruit. One is Sucrose Accumulator which limits conversion of sucrose to glucose and fructose. This is being worked on by several breeders.

There are half a dozen cherry size tomatoes that brix in the 10 to 15 range.

[greyghost]

It's probably going to be hard to find someone that'll go out on a limb and
suggest a couple of "sweet" beefsteaks since we all perceive taste so differently.
That said, out of the couple hundred or so varieties I've grown, we have thought
Terhune and Weisnicht's Ukrainian were the two sweetest. I generally just grow
reds and pinks-a few blacks- and we look more for an aggressive taste-what some might describe as acidic. Dester has a deep complex taste-not necessarily
sweet but an exceptionally good taste.

It'd be interesting to know if you've tried these yet? Dester is available from several good vendors, WU is available from Fedco and Tatiana's. Carol Knapp
has Terhune but her website is down for a while. Send me a Pm if you'd like to
try these 3 varieties--my Terhune is a couple of years old but I'm positive I still
have it.

You might also like some of the oxhearts like Pink Honey (Ohio Heirlooms,
I think) and Joes pink Oxheart--there's a thread about both here. Also, some
bi-colors might be suitable. You probably will have to do what many of us do-
try 50 to 100 varieties each year in order to find a few we love.

Hope some others will have some more varieties to suggest. Good luck. Darlene

[carolyn137]

Since taste is both personal and perceptual and there's even a human genetic factor involved, one person will say this one or that one is sweet and others will disagree, it happens all the time.

Other variables that can affect taste include the weather in any season, the soil,how the plants are grown, what amendments are used, which ones, how much and when.

So I've kind of given up on saying which varieties taste sweet to me.

Maybe it's best tojust grow the ones you researched, or suggestions made here and see which ones are sweet for you where you live and how you grow your tomatoes, etc.

Carolyn

[Worth1]

You can always try most of the orange or yellow tomatoes they seem to be sweeter.
But as was said there are no large tomatoes like sungold or sunsugar.
Not even close.
I like sweet tomatoes so when I slice them I put a little sugar on them.
This is something people used to do you cant seem to find anyone that does it anymore.
Trust me it works, give it a try.

Worth

[KarenO]

My dear little Belgian Grandmother always used to put sugar on tomatoes. Sliced in a china dish, for desert.
Might be why I prefer tangy tomatoes
Karen.

As to your question, have a look at some of the "white" beefsteaks. the ones I have grown are very mild and sweet. Great White, Jack White, White Tomesol as examples.

[Fred Hempel]

For my taste -- Sweet tomatoes = Brandywine (Sudduth's), Cherokee Purple, Cosmonaut Volkov, Captain Lucky

At least those are the 4 that come to mind.

Disclaimer: I have only grown about 200 varieties of tomatoes.

[ginger2778]

If you are OK with a hybrid, Momotaro is definitely very sweet. Bred to be.

[b54red]

It sounds like you are looking for a tomato that is not balanced so that you get sweet for the predominant taste. You might find tomato varieties like Pineapple or Lucky Cross more to your liking though they won't be as sweet as Sungold. Myself, I don't like tomatoes that sweet. I like a more balanced flavor. About the sweetest tomato I can eat is Virginia Sweet and it is almost too sweet for me.

Bill

[Lee]

You need to do a search on here for Earl's soil recipe.
And then grab some seeds of Earl's Faux and grow them.
That was one of the sweetest tomatoes I've tasted when it came from Earl's garden.

Note, the Earl's Faux grown in a garden down in Charlotte, NC was more to the tart side, which I actually preferred.

So, really what I'm getting at, is that you may not be getting sweet tomatoes from traditional sweet varieties because your soil needs to be "sweetened up".

Lee

[Lindalana]

I am not talking about ¨factor It¨ that I define for Sungold as seems to be universally very tasty to just about everyone.
Out of 80 varieties that I grow this year Orange strawberry, Altajskij Urozajnii and Galina´s red had more distinct sweetness than others. AU is not a large beef but medium size tomato, from Tania, has this oomph with bite characteristic to Sungold. Orange strawberry probably is not that tasty for eating for me but has distinct advantage of adding to sauce, similar to Orange Banana I like. Galina´s Red is midseason beef and has distinct sweet taste to it.
Mind you, it is anecdotal evidence from this year of gardening effort with my current soil building efforts. I am waiting on only couple more varieties which yet to ripen though.

[PaulF]

Kellogg's Breakfast/KBX, Orange Russian 117 on a good year, most of the pink hearts and several of the blacks like Carbon, Brad's Black Oxheart and Cherokee Purple/Chocolate are sweet to me.

The oranges and several bi-colors are the sweetest in my garden.

I also go for the sweet ones more than the biters. My father grew all tart tomatoes and we grew up dousing tomatoes with sugar just so we could eat them.

[Tormato]

Like Paul, bi-colors are usually the sweetest large tomatoes in my garden.

[bower]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Anna Russian. At least, it was very sweet here, definitely nothing tart about it. I thought it tasted like watermelon.
In the yellows, Serdtse Dezdemony and Zolotye Kupola were both very sweet, but ZK was more flavorful. No 'acid' in those tastes at all.
This year I'm growing a black called Tsindao, which so far is consistently sweet - much sweeter than other blacks I've grown, and no tanginess or acidity in it, but tasty.

Afaik, sunshine, warmth, and potassium content of the soil when ripening will also have a big effect on fruit sweetness, aside from the genetics of the plant.