I took time out from setting up the new laptop to attend a tomato tasting at our nearby Mac's Nursery this afternoon.
We were given a pen and a sheet of paper that named the 77 varieties that were set out for tasting.
I started at the first long table, with romas and cherry tomatoes at the start. About half way down the full sized tomatoes began. I first tasted them without salt, but it didn't take long before I opened one of the provided salt packets.
By the time I got to table two I was getting rather tired of tasting. Even with a small sample of each, 77 little bites soon add up to lots of tomato consumed!
The tomatoes were nicely displayed. and well protected from any flies or insects that might want a taste.
Salt packets, toothpicks and hand sanitizers were provided.
All the varieties were grown on one farm, and will be for sale as plants next spring.
Click to enlarge the photo of the varieties that were available. Would you believe, that from all these heirlooms and hybrids, I picked two hybrids as my favorites? Celebrity and Super fantastic were my winners.
That looked like a lot of fun..wish we had something like that here in NC.
ReplyDeleteGinny, it would have been better with fewer choices. They said they won't do them all at once next year.
ReplyDeleteCelebrity was a fave huh? Cool. Sounds like a very fun event!
ReplyDeleteMmmm yummy!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to have to look and see if I can find any tastings nearby! Our local farmers market this week only had ONE booth that was even offering tomatoes. I feel like I'm already starting the withdrawal symptoms!
And nope, neither the quake nor the hurricane did anything at all to affect us at our house. We're far away from any ocean beaches. But thanks for worrying over us! *hugs*
Wow that seems like an awesome experience. Often I find it hard picking tomato plants against each other just based on the little plant tags. You got a chance to compare them all against each other based on taste at once. But I agree that does seem like overload, but fun still!
ReplyDeleteGranny - From the title, it seemed that you were floating in tomatoes :) I hope to, soon enough. Finally, the tomatoes are ripening!!
ReplyDeleteNartaya, I always grew celebrity before I began growing heirlooms. With the problems I had with my Brandywines and Rutgers this year, I may go back to planting a few hybrids.
ReplyDelete********
Wendy, I need to re-read before I email!
********
Vanessa, it was fun, but I was surprised that I didn't really like the flavor of a lot of them. Even some I grow tasted different somehow, maybe because they were so warm. Once I decided to use salt, they were much better.
********
Random I'm getting a lot of Cherokee Purples, but no good canning tomatoes. The CPs tend to get mushy when cooked.
wow what a neat event! thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteOh, that would be cool to be able to attend something like that! Glad you took time to attend. Funny how the two you liked were hybrids. Ha!
ReplyDelete~~Lori
How fun!!! My garden group does something like that but we find we all grow similar stuff LOL... this would be a really cool event to try new stuff!
ReplyDeleteMrs. Pickles, my pleasure!
ReplyDelete********
Lori, it was a blind taste testing. We were only given numbers at first, then picked up the name sheet after we'd made our choices. That's what surprised me about liking the hybrids better than the heirlooms.
********
Erin, after about the first 25 samples, they all start tasting the same! Except for some that were noticeably sour and nasty tasting, as I tend to prefer a bit of sweetness in my tomatoes.
MMMmmm Oh mY what a WONDERFUL idea! I'd love to do a taste test like this - but that is a whole LOT of testing!
ReplyDelete77 different kinds of tomato. WOW. thought I was doing well with six different kinds in my garden.
ReplyDeleteBarbie & Lisa, I assume he grows the plants for that nursery. I know they are all locally grown, and they were doing the taste test to decide which ones to offer next year.
ReplyDeleteVery cool! What a way to showcase their selections.
ReplyDeleteI know some people hold a grudge against hybrids, but I have never understood why. They are hybridized for some great quality, why not enjoy it?!? (And yes, 77 is a lot of tomatoes to try. Sheesh!)
ReplyDeleteI agree, Kelly. I got lucky with the heirlooms the past couple of years, but this year has been disastrous with all the diseases. My favorite beets and carrots are hybrids, next year most of my tomatoes will be. If I were a seed saver it might be different.
ReplyDelete