gregorator

Comments by gregorator

Heirloom Tomato - Little italy

The average mass produced grocery store style tomatoe had been bred for uniform color and size. Great for packing machines and uniform visual marketing. Bad for taste. For the last 70-odd years, tomato breeders have been selecting for fruits that are uniform in color. Consumers prefer those tomatoes over ones with splotches, and the uniformity makes it easier for producers to know when it’s time to harvest. Research now discovers that the genetic mutation that makes a tomato conform to size and color traits, common in store-bought tomatoes, also reduces the amount of sugar and other tasty compounds in the fruit. The same mutation that leads to the uniform appearance of most store-bought tomatoes has an unintended consequence: It disrupts the production of a protein responsible for the fruit’s production of sugar. Heirloom tomatos have NO gene to control color or size, the reason they are sweet as a fruit and vary in color and complexity like this one from our friend Batties garden.
— September 5, 2012 9:01 a.m.