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View Full Version : Amazing.. A Tomato that tastes great in the winter here!



brewmaster15
02-21-2014, 02:18 PM
Tomatoes to me are a Godsend.... I grow them in the Summer here in New England ...I jar them, make sauce and make salsa which I also Jar. I'll eat them right off the vine all summer. Nothing like a fresh tomato!

Fall comes around and I'll jar them by the box load... then winter comes. I usually skip eating tomatoes until late spring/summer again because they taste terrible...Even the hot house grown vine ripened ones just don't have that same pizzaz, the same tastes and textures for me.

I was out picking up some cold cuts the other day and saw a weird looking Brown Tomato packaged up for sale.. Its called a KUMATO. a bit expensive but what the heck, something different to try. I bought them.

Just made a sandwich... and OMG>>> its like they are fresh from my garden in the SUMMER. The scent, texture, taste...absolutely amazing.

Did a little research, this tomato, the KUMATO


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kumatoes

The Kumato is a trade name given to the variety of tomato developed in Spain called "Olmeca", which went by experimental number SX 387. It is grown in Spain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Greece, Turkey, and Canada by specially selected growers.[1] The Kumato is a standard size variety of tomato weighing between 80 and 120 grams. It is a green to reddish brown, and sweeter than typical tomatoes due to a higher fructose content.[2]

Unlike other tomato varieties, seeds cannot be purchased by the general public. Syngenta[3] has stated that they will never make Kumato seeds available to the general public as the Kumato tomato is grown under a concept known as a club variety, whereby Syngenta sells seeds only to licensed growers that go through a rigorous selection process, and participation is by invitation only. Syngenta maintains ownership of the variety throughout the entire value chain from breeding to marketing; selected growers must agree to follow specified cultivation protocols and pays fees for licenses per acre of greenhouse, costs of the seeds, and royalties based on the volume of tomatoes produced. Typically, Syngenta licenses only one large vertically integrated greenhouse producer per country that has well established relationships with grocery chains.

The introduction of Kumato into the marketplace has spurred the interest of both consumers and plant breeders alike. Through a similar growing club concept, Dulcinea introduced the Rosso Bruno tomato, marking the first competitor to Kumato available to the general public.[citation needed][verification needed]

As the Kumato is a hybrid, planted seeds will not grow plants identical to the parent.[citation needed]

If you guys like tomatoes but hate the off season ones... try these if you have a chance. I consider myself a tomato afficiando and these things rock!!

-al

ps, yeah I know getting pumped up about tomatoes is weird... but for me it was like finding an oasis after walking in the desert.:)

brewmaster15
02-21-2014, 02:31 PM
more here..

http://www.kumato.com/en/-ska-sorulan-sorular.aspx

Trier20
02-21-2014, 02:45 PM
I totally agree with what you say. I love tomatoes and I hate off season hard pinkish red tasteless balls of junk we get sold or served. The best part of that is those junk tomatoes are available year round and often are sold by big food companies. Personally there is nothing like a nice ripe tomato fresh off the Vince still warm from the suns rays with salt and pepper. I might have to look into this Kumato.

Ryan
02-21-2014, 02:51 PM
I'll have to keep my eye out for these.

I've had a similar experience with apples this past year. There were several "designer" varieties in my grocery store that were delicious. After some research, it turns out they were also being grown by select orchards who were part of co-ops, some exclusive or by invitation only. They include SweeTango, Honeycrisp, and KIKU apples.

Skip
02-21-2014, 02:54 PM
there is a guy, dean slater.. in the Betta groups.. well he says he is a big deal in HEIRLOOM tomatoes.. !? i have no idea what that is.. LOL

however.. i like fresh tomates with a little salt.. nomm nomm!!

brewmaster15
02-21-2014, 03:21 PM
Skip the heirlooms have become alot more popular. They are basically the tomatoes grown years ago before they started seriously hybridizing them to make them more resistent to various diseases. The disease resistance part is a plus, but there was a trade off in the way of tastes and texture.

People have gone back and are trying these old lines again....They are more difficult to grow, but do taste better, imo. I usually grow some here as well.

-al
Ryan, I'll have to keep an eye out for those...apples are another thing that is not that great in the winter here. In the fall New England is loaded with great apples.. We go and pick them ourselves ....they have dozens of varieties growing.... but winter they come from elsewhere.

Don't know if you guys know what Ethylene Gas is? Its the reason we have alot of our fruits off season. They pick them unripe, and then ripen them artificially using this gas (which is also given off by some fruits)...

read here..http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethylene

the downside is when they are ripened this way, they aren't using the suns light to make sugars so they aren't as sweet and tasty.

-al

Skip
02-21-2014, 03:29 PM
Brew.. ahhh.. i see.. thanks

BTW his name is dean slater, out of pks heirloom tomatoes, in-case you are interested in looking into it..

brewmaster15
02-21-2014, 03:30 PM
I will thanks!
al

brady
02-21-2014, 04:55 PM
Hi Al
Do you think it would be worth to try and germinate the seeds. As you well know I'm an avid gardener who now grows only heirloom tomatoes and btw a stain of Egyptian onion that I got from some guy several years ago. Beyond good. LOL.
Jay

brewmaster15
02-21-2014, 05:03 PM
Jay,
Always have more egyptian onions here my friend... growing some in the house too now. Can't beat em.

I thought about the seeds of these kumato too for growing but they say they are from hybrids... and wont produce the same tomatoes... still It might give you an idea of what tomatoes went into it.... could be interesting to see what you got out of it. who knows maybe something even better!

-al

dirtyplants
02-21-2014, 05:10 PM
I get these a lot from a local store, I like the way they taste, but what worries me is the drive to prevent seeds from getting into the hands of the general public. If big companies have their way no one will be able to plant their own vegetable gardens, there will be no seeds.

People have gone back and are trying these old lines again....They are more difficult to grow, but do taste better, imo. I usually grow some here as well.

I do beleive they are much hardier also, once you have them going.