2010 Tomato Experiment - Kumato

Our home grown tomatoes are gone as off few weeks ago (fresh anyway), miss them! This morning, I was at Giant Foods, last minute shopping for the New Year dinner. Noticed an unusual colored tomato (for the chain food store). In the package of 4, very "homegrown" looking tomatoes are chocolate colored with some faint green shoulders and stripes:

So yes, indeed I bought them! Name - KUMATO

Naturally, excited to try them as soon as I got home. Impression - 2 fruits, both tasted a little different. One had more pronounced acidity, the other one - a bit sweeter. After doing a little online reading, appears to be commercial variety, no info of hybrid or not (I tend to believe that it is), but described as good keeper, and sweet...

To be honest with you, both tomatoes I tried - I would never refer to them as sweet by any means. But, then again, depending on the season, soil, ripening condition and such - this can be the matter of those variables.

What attracted me to this tomato - size, chocolate color, but more importantly - aroma! Very fragrant tomatoes! Even 20 min or so after I tried it, and washed my hands, I can still smell the rich tomato on my hands.

And after a little deliberation:


Yep, saved the seeds from the half of the sweeter one.

I've yet to find a good "long keeper" tomato that I liked the taste. And while not overwhelmed with the flavor of Kumato, I'm still amazed by it's aroma, and for sheer curiosity want to see what it does in the good, rich soil.

So for now - fermenting, and will give it a try in 2010, I'm sure I can find a room for 2 more plants in the garden!