Speckled Roman Tomato: Hanna’s Tomato Tastings 2009

Part of Hanna’s Tomato Tastings 2009

This would be my freaky-deaky tomato of the season. It is a tomato that really, really wants people to think it is part of the very in hot pepper crowd. If you were not looking closely, you might mistake it for one. But even confused tomatoes can’t change who and what they are.

The description from the company I got it from reads:

The oblong red fruits are 3″ wide and 5″ long with orange and yellow stripes/speckles and decorative enough to keep in a basket on your kitchen counter until you are ready to cook with them. But, you will appreciate the hefty, meaty fruit with few seeds the most for the excellent flavor it has in sauce. You can also use these tomatoes fresh and sliced for sandwiches and hors d’oeuvres.

The Beauty Pageant:

Size: Anywhere from as long as my hand to as long as my finger. Somewhere as thick as two fingers and three fingers.

Shape: Long and pointy. Think a butch witch’s finger.

Color: Bright red with orange striation. The inside is a solid red.

The inside: Very few seeds with thin walls, but a thick core. Almost no gel.

Texture: This is a very mealy tomato, but fortunately, it has all the characteristics of a good sauce tomato.

Tasting:

Off the Vine Tasting: The flavor is straight tomato, and neither a strong nor a weak tomato flavor. Not all that memorable.

Sliced and Salted Tasting: Salt makes this tomato tangier. Gives it a little personality, like a shot of tequila gives a suburban housewife a bit more personality.

Cooking Thoughts: I don’t think that the feel of this tomato lends itself to appetizers, as the description suggests and has not enough unique flavor to eat on its own. But, it is a grade A sauce tomato.

Growing Notes:
Fairly healthy, but not robust. To tell the truth, from the time this tomato plant was a seedling, it always looked unhealthy. The leaves on this plant are naturally droopy. Every one of them I gave away elicited questions on their health because of the droopiness. It is hard to say if the adult plant is unhealthy or if it simply is just a perpetually sickly looking plant.

Will Hanna grow this one again:
No. Interesting tomato, but not enough production to make it a good choice for a saucing tomato.