Comments on: Costoluto Genovese: Hanna’s Tomato Tastings 2007

By: Kelly

Kelly — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 21:46:31 +0000

I wouldn’t call Costaloto Genevese the “Poolboy” of tomatos, I would call them the “Granny Smith” of tomatos. Nice to look at and really great for cooking.

On the other hand, you wouldn’t grab one and start munching on it. Both are tart with great flavor for sauces etc.

By: Steven Creber

Steven Creber — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 09:06:08 +0000

I grow this tomato in Melbourne, Australia, a climate I guess you’d call warm to hot but cool winters.It produces good quantities of really tasty fruit, higher in acid than commercial tomatoes but what I’m looking for in an heirloom. Bad experiences may be related to the growing climate. It responds really welll to sulphate of potash in my experience.

By: Beth

Beth — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 07:24:03 +0000

I’m growing this for the first time this year and after doing a lot of online “research” I choose to grow the C.G. and San Marzano both for their SAUCE making qualities. Nothing I’ve read praised the C.G. for it’s fresh-eating appeal, but said the tart acidic flavor was perfect for use in sauce or anything that was to be cooked/processed. I suppose, just like wine grapes, the long hot days and cool nights would increase the acid in the fruit, making it perhaps unpleasant to eat fresh. Unless of course it is paired with some fat (i.e. the olive oil and cheese). I think it’s unfair to write off this variety simply because you’ve done a raw tasting – you should have different categories…..something like best of the sandwhich tomatoes(tastes good with bread and mayo, etc), best of the sauce making tomatoes, etc…. Having tried sauce made with C.G.s I’d much prefer it over sauce made from a Brandywine. I’d slice a big fat slab of a brandywine in a sandwich long before I’d do that with a C.G.(w/the reported tart acidity and frequent toilet trips). The end use determines the reason for each type I grow…..who knows I may not like it, but that sauce was amazing.

P.S. Maybe the pool boy looks good and his summer job is to do that, but who knows…he may be a bio-chemistry pre-med student putting himself through college and come winter, he turns out to be something entirely different.

By: RGM2

RGM2 — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 16:13:16 +0000

I live in phoenix and plan to grow these tomatoes. They are supposed to taste MUCH better in the dry heat here. We will see.

By: KAD

KAD — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 05:21:51 +0000

I garden in eastern nebraska. and I have to say that this tomato is one of my favorites. I have grown close to 50 varieties, and I always make sure to save room for 2 or 3 costolutos every year. I use them strictly for sauce. They are rather watery for sauce, but the taste of the finished product is phenomenal.