Carnegie presentation, Harry Klee on tomatoes

[Fusion_power]

I watched this through tonight and thoroughly enjoyed the presentation. The question and answer was the most intriguing part of it.


http://library.fora.tv/2015/09/17/Wh..._Should_I_Care

This is the link to his website where his varieties can be purchased.

http://hos.ufl.edu/kleeweb/newcultivars.html

The Dorito Effect

http://tvo.org/video/programs/the-ag...-dorito-effect

[Salsacharley]

Thanks for the link! It was most interesting and enjoyable, although my personal sensitivities were challenged at times.

[Labradors2]

It was interesting, if a bit long-winded.

As has been said before, if he thinks that Cherry Roma is the best tasting tomato, and that Matt's Wild Cherry and Marmande are the worst, I think that something is wrong and that's not very encouraging for the future of store-bought tomatoes.....

Linda

[WhippoorwillG]

Originally Posted by Labradors2

It was interesting, if a bit long-winded.

As has been said before, if he thinks that Cherry Roma is the best tasting tomato, and that Matt's Wild Cherry and Marmande are the worst, I think that something is wrong and that's not very encouraging for the future of store-bought tomatoes.....

Linda

Funny you should say that Linda... Somewhere online there are a couple to three years worth of survey data for different tomatoes. It is probably UF material, but I saw about three years ago where Cherry Roma was the "best" flavor profile, so I have grown it the past few years, each year hoping to find something amazing about it... By no means a "loser," but I don't think I will grow it this year.


That's where wisdom and personal experience replaces some of the statistical evidence. Ask Carolyn what the best tasting tomato is? As mentioned in the lecture, different strokes for different folks.



However, the talk is fascinating material that can help how many breeders, professional and hobbyist alike, approach creating new tomato varieties.

[Labradors2]

Ha ha! I've watched Carolyn dodge that question numerous times and know all too well that her response would be something to the effect that "tastes change"....

I think someone should invite Harry Klee to join TV and then he could be as confused (about what REALLY constitutes the best tasting tomato) as the rest of us .

Did anyone catch the part where he claimed that cherry tomatoes have more flavour than the large ones? I'm still pondering that one.

Linda

[jmsieglaff]

I really enjoyed listening to the presentation. Thanks a lot for sharing it.

Originally Posted by Labradors2

Did anyone catch the part where he claimed that cherry tomatoes have more flavour than the large ones? I'm still pondering that one.

I did catch that one as well, the way I took it was, if you want a tomato with at least some flavor in the supermarket, buy cherry tomatoes. I would agree with that. NatureSweet Sunbursts and Cherubs are OK tomatoes--better than no tomatoes in the winter. I will not buy any large-sized regular supermarket tomatoes. Occasionally we'll grab some decent tomatoes at Whole Foods in the winter as well, those are usually cherry assortments or smaller tomatoes as well. Now they are nothing close compared home-grown, but they at least serve the winter purpose. (FWIW, I can personally attest Sunburts grown at home do taste better than store bought.)

[Gardeneer]

Originally Posted by jmsieglaff

I really enjoyed listening to the presentation. Thanks a lot for sharing it.



I did catch that one as well, the way I took it was, if you want a tomato with at least some flavor in the supermarket, buy cherry tomatoes. I would agree with that. NatureSweet Sunbursts and Cherubs are OK tomatoes--better than no tomatoes in the winter. I will not buy any large-sized regular supermarket tomatoes. Occasionally we'll grab some decent tomatoes at Whole Foods in the winter as well, those are usually cherry assortments or smaller tomatoes as well. Now they are nothing close compared home-grown, but they at least serve the winter purpose. (FWIW, I can personally attest Sunburts grown at home do taste better than store bought.)

Cherry and grape tomatoes are the only kind that I buy off season from stores. My favorite is a grape type that looks like Juliet. Actually I am eating some in my salad right now. They are not as juicy or sweet but very tasty .

[Fusion_power]

Did anyone catch the part where he claimed that cherry tomatoes have more flavour than the large ones? I'm still pondering that one.

You have to read between the lines to get to what he is saying. Cherry tomatoes have more gel which means more aromatic flavor compounds relative to the volume of the fruit. This translates to significantly better flavor in cherry tomatoes, especially when compared to the large fruited sawdust tomatoes common in stores. I concur in this assessment though I have grown several cherry varieties that were bland or over-sweet with little or no actual tomato flavor.

Re Marmande, if you listened to the entire video, there is a place where he says that the problem with Marmande is the texture, not the flavor. It scores very low because the texture negates any and all flavor potential. There are several tomatoes that are very well worth growing because they are superb for sauce or paste. These varieties are rarely rated worth growing for fresh eating.

He skirted around discussing sugar content as a component of flavor. It was obvious from his slides that he considered the sugar/starch biopath and the carotenoid biopath as critical components of tomato flavor. This suggests that he is having trouble getting high sugar content into a good flavored tomato. This is a problem that is showing up consistently in the attempts to produce a true breeding line from Sunlucky.

[jmsieglaff]

I liked the comparisons to craft beer. Maybe store tomatoes are where craft beer was 25 years ago. I enjoy many craft beers and also brew my own. Must be my brain, variety in beers, foods, etc and always been a science person.

[RJGlew]

Originally Posted by Fusion_power

http://library.fora.tv/2015/09/17/Wh..._Should_I_Care

An interesting talk. A paper of his with more depth is available on-line from ufl.

Tieman DM, McIntyre L, Blandon-Ubeda A, Bies D, Odabasi A, Rodriguez G, van der Knaap E, Taylor M, Goulet C, Mageroy MH, Snyder D, Colquoun T, Moskowitz H, Sims C, Clark D, Bartoshuk L, Klee H. 2012. The chemical interactions underlying tomato flavor preferences. Current Biology 22:1-5.

http://www.hos.ufl.edu/kleeweb/paper...%20Biology.pdf

[Gerardo]

Interesting talk. Thanks Fusion_Power.

I found the perception of sweet to be the most interesting part.

He seems a little trigger happy with his shootin from the hip remarks.

The part about cross cultural perceptions and experience of taste might improve by giving a couple of examples in each group, that way they don't come off sounding like stereotypes.

I was amazed at the homogeneity of the crowd, it looked to me like an opera crowd.

But overall very good talk. The Q & A when he acknowledges that not only the Garden Treasure and Gems are his children, but also hybrids and Round-Up, I found that interesting too.