Purple Calabash Tomato
It s even good when sliced for sandwiches.
Purple calabash tomato. Delicious fresh this tomato really shines in sauces and pastes. Purple calabash drought tolerant and crack resistant a drought tolerant plant producing abundant crops of 2 5 to 3 flattened deeply ruffled chocolate brown to deep purple fruits. Especially demanded by gourmet chefs for their beautiful ribbed look and intense color this variety is very useful in many culinary applications. Oldest american heirloom tomato grown by thomas jefferson.
This tomato originates from mexico and it s history dates as far back to the pre columbian era. This variety comes from william woys weaver who got his seed stock from peace seeds in the early 1990s. Purple calabash tomato is a flattened ribbed dark purple fruit that grows on prolific vines. I quote from the monticello museum brochure thomas jefferson was a pioneer in tomato culture.
The first mention of it was by thomas jefferson in his notes in 1781 jefferson grew his tomatoes at monticello in 1809 the first summer of his retirement and grew them until his death. Approximately 35 purple calabash tomato seeds per packet. The culture of the ribbed and scalloped purple calabash tomato dates to pre columbian mexico. The look of purple calabash is distinctive and the flavor is more on the acidic side has some of the flavor depth typical of many of the dusky types but when combined with the acidity it just wasn t enough to make this one a keeper for me.
Planting this relatively unfamiliar vegetable from 1809 the first summer of his retirement until his death in 1826. This variety is similar to tomatoes grown before colonization in what is now mexico. A smoky purple esque very ruffled slightly flattened beefsteak type of tomato. Light green purple at the shoulders gives way to dark purple at the base and an equally dark purple interior.
Fruits are milder and juicy. Very complex deep swirling tomato flavors reminding this taster of a fruity cabernet wine. Purple calabash organic heirloom tomato seeds. In a taste test of 25 varieties at truelove seeds this year purple calabash was in the top three.
Here is the purple calabash tomato solanum lycopersicum. Looks and tastes like cabernet wine. The cinderella pumpkin shaped tomatoes are about 3 inches wide by 1 1 2 inches tall and very deeply ribbed.