My Life with Tomatoes

Heirloom tomatoes

So what exactly is an heirloom tomato? A lot has been written lately about this newly discovered old-time vegetable, and, I might add, a great deal of money is spent on it by chefs and consumers alike in search of long-lost perfection. Actually, though, there are some very good new varieties, like Green Zebra or Green Grape (both from the 1980s), so not everything sold as an heirloom is old. The British call them heritage tomatoes, a term perhaps a little more capable of conveying some of the meanings associated with true heirlooms. In any case, heirlooms share a number of things not found in hybrids, the most important being that they can reproduce themselves over and over again. They are also open-pollinated (no artificial crossing, no genetic engineering). Heirlooms have been handed down through several generations, and many of them have well-documented histories. There is a prodigious list of legendary tomatoes that were developed in this country alone, starting with Trophy (1870)—still an excellent cooking tomato—and running through the ever-popular creations of tomato breeder Alexander Livingston of Ohio. His Paragon (1870) and Golden Queen (1882) are considered classics by tomato collectors. Lukullus (1903), still popular in Germany, and Snowball (1948) are just two of the old commercial cultivars I still grow out of pure passion for their excellent taste. Other old ones are quite rare, like the white-skinned Shah (1888) or the crimson-fleshed Mikado (1886)—very hard to find, but luscious collectibles for the tomato aficionado. A number of the most unusual heirlooms, however, are what I call old-time garden mongrels. These delicious-tasting tomatoes are varieties that simply emerged in the backyard gardens of everyday folks. They were treasured by the families who grew them, then handed down to friends and neighbors. Some of these are readily available from seed companies and even appear in farmers markets during the summer. Cherokee Purple, Aunt Ruby’s German Green (try it with caviar), and Mary Reynold’s Orange, from Kerrs Creek, Virginia, are all distinctive varieties with rich flavors. My all-time favorites, however, are the indigenous tomatoes of Mexico and Central America. That is where the tomato mutated into the large-fruited varieties found by the conquistadores in the 1500s. Joya de Oaxaca (“Jewel of Oaxaca”) is my pick for 2000. Its yellow flesh marbled with reds, oranges, and pinks is a vegetable piñata exploding with flavor. And a jewel it is, because it is excellent both fresh and dried. —W.W.W.

Interested in growing your own heirlooms? Contact Seed Savers Exchange in Decorah, Iowa (319-382-5990).