Posted on 06/05/2005 6:06:50 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Here comes a desginger tomato-Strawmato-a new hybrid tomato which looks like strawberry, tastes sweet and you can even dip it into melted chocolate to relish a great taste of it .
Inevitably dubbed the "Strawmato", this new hybrid is expected to be in vegetable markets next year as part of a new wave of "designer tomatoes" designed to tempt the palates of jaded consumers, the Independent reported.
Bernard Sparkes, the development executive with Melrow Salads, the Lancashire-based company that has bred the new tomato said that the "Zebra", grown from a new seed variety, would be best for roasting or grilling.
It will be green and red striped, "Zebra" tomatoes and the misshapen, green, so-called "ugly" tomato from southern Spain -which its growers claim are the sweetest of all, he added.
While the "ugly" was a traditional Spanish tomato, normally sliced on to, or rubbed into, bread and served with olive oil and salt. "It's been around for a long while, but we just haven't been able to find a good source of supplier," said Sparkes.
According to Sparkes the new breed may take a little while to get into the shops. "We are not letting it out until we are quite satisfied. We expect it to be on the shelves within a year, but it might be two years. And I think we will be calling it the Strawmato.''
"People are getting more adventurous and want to try different varieties of tomato. They want tomatoes that look unusual and exciting to put in the salad bowl. The strawberry tomato looks fantastic and it also has a great taste - it can be eaten on its own or in salad,"said Peter Ireland,a fruit buyer.
It remains to be seen whether consumers will take to the small, sweet tomatoes. Visitors to a gathering of the tomato trade in Sicily who were offered them last week, dipped them in melted chocolate!
While Spain and Italy have long been considered by gourmets to be the home of the best tomatoes, Gerry Hayman of the British Tomato Growers Association maintained that domestically produced ones could now stand comparison on flavour, even though they only account for about a third of the 400,000 tons eaten each year in Britain alone.
"The market has changed dramatically over the past five years, with the introduction of plum and vine tomatoes, and this move reflects the fact that retailers are always looking for that little bit extra to tempt consumers," Hayman said.
"Although there are traditional varieties which do look strawberry shaped, the problem has been that the yield is fairly low and they are not so resistant to pests, which do not make them economically viable," he concluded.
Honestly I am disgusted by the idea of chocolate on tomatoes.......
bugh!
Gosh, I'm like soooo jaded about food. What's this? It's called a "strawmato" you say? This may be just the thing to tempt my palate!
Note-If you're "jaded" about food, you probably have too much food.
besides - Im partial to Amish hierloom varieties with mayo and salt
Tomatoe Pingoe
Sure would be nice if they could put time and energy into growing a tomato for grocery stores that doesn't taste like sawdust. But NO......let's make one taste like fruit! Gag.
I'm an avid gardener. This thing is being propagated for a niche market - the same ones that munch Brie and wash it down with Chablis. The closest I've ever come to any sort of 'hybrid' tomato was a type I've planted a couple of times - it's called 'Mr. Stripey'. It's an honest-to-God yellow and red striped tomato, with amazingly good flavor and a low acid content. But, damn it, it tasted like a tomato, not something I threw in the blender after I raided my strawberry patch. (And yes, we do have a strawberry patch. And a Stayman Winesap apple tree. And a Texas golden fig tree. And a dwarf navel orange tree. And a big muscadine grape arbor. Daddy likes being self-sufficient when he can. LOL)
Besides who would want a tomato that tastes like strawberries on a bologna and cheese sandwich with mustard?!
It looks like a strawberry but doesn't taste like a strawberry. It tastes "sweet" and tomatolike.
I agree, though...who dips tomatoes in chocolate? Ugghhh!
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