Red Heirloom Varieties
Amish Paste is a plum-sized heirloom that originated in the 1870s in an Amish community in Wisconsin! This heirloom bears sweet flavorful fruit and makes an ideal salad tomato.
The Brandywine variety, named after Brandywine Creek in Pennsylvania, dates back to 1885. It is often voted the“ Best Heirloom Tomato.” Yellow Heirloom Varieties Lemony is a Russian heirloom known as Limmony. Produces an abundance of yellow beefsteak tomatoes with a sweet, tangy flavor.
Yellow Pear is a popular variety for market growers. It produces large clusters of small yellow, pear-shaped fruit with a mild flavor and takes only 70 days to harvest.
Using Your Harvest
There are many creative recipe ideas for enjoying your heirloom tomatoes, from fresh salads to homemade sauces. According to The Old Farmer’ s Almanac Garden Guide 2024, growing heirlooms enhance pasta salad, jam, a BLT and salsa.
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BLTs: Use one of the larger Russian varieties. The goal is for two slices to cover the entire sandwich. The Azoychka is tangy, bright and less acidic than others. Salsa: Bonny Best and Abe Lincoln are the top choices for salsa. Both are meaty tomatoes with a fresh taste.
Pasta Salad: Green Zebra and Jaune Flamme are snack varieties that work well with pasta salads.
Jam: Some use a mixture of tomatoes for jam and blend meaty varieties like Emerald Evergreen and Japanese Black Trifele.
Heirloom tomatoes, with their unmistakable appearance, are a staple at farmer’ s markets due to their unique and often ugly looks. Their allure isn’ t in their aesthetic, but in the unparalleled flavors they bring to the table, making them highly sought after by tomato enthusiasts and hobby gardeners alike. These tomatoes come in various shapes, sizes, and colors, often boasting wrinkles and unusual hues that set them apart from typical grocery store varieties.
“ The only thing that money can’ t buy, that’ s true love and homegrown tomatoes.”— Guy Clark, American singer-songwriter.
July 2024 AcreageLife 27