Gourmet tomatoes

Cheese pairing guides. They have a perfectly balanced taste with juicy flesh. The skin is a pale orange color when they first start to ripen. These tomatoes are perfect for sandwiches, salads, and just eating a slice. The yellow flesh is nicely textured and generally has a bit of red marbling. They are perfect for salads, sandwiches, and eating straight off the vine.

The Brandywine tomato is a classic heirloom tomato that was first introduced in seed catalogs over a hundred years ago.

Tips for growing the best-tasting tomatoes

A lot of leaves can capture a lot of sunlight, so a plant with dense, healthy foliage can convert more sunlight into sugars and other flavorful components. The flavor is the perfect balance of sweetness and tartness, with the added benefit of not being too intense or too mild.

Some people find the first-picked tomatoes are the best tasting; most find that it is the main crop that tastes the best. This variety is best picked and enjoyed before overly ripe or before cold autumn weather arrives.

Aunt Ruby’s German Green is a large beefsteak-type tomato cultivar. Craig profiles the tomatoes as “lovely, nearly-round, medium-sized pink specimens that possessed a really fine flavor, well balanced but slightly on the sweet side.”

21.

They are not a true dark purple like Black Krim. Use in baked dishes, roasted veggie platters or as the star of a tomato tart with goat cheese or ricotta.

Beefsteak (*Solanum lycopersicum* ‘Beefsteak’)

• Flavor: Mild, juicy, balanced acidity
• Best use: Sandwiches, stacked appetizers, grilling
• Recommended zones: USDA Zones 4–9
• Wine pairing: Merlot or Syrah
• Cheese pairing: Sharp cheddar or blue cheese

Known for their impressive size and juiciness, beefsteak tomatoes are a summer classic.

They are known for their deep-red skin, round shape, and ease of growing. The Green Giant tomato is an heirloom variety from Germany.

16. While everyone has their own favorite tomato variety to eat, here are three of the most popular tomatoes grown for superb flavor:

There is a broad range and depth of flavor available in tomato cultivars.

Grown traditionally in Italy’s volcanic soil, these tomatoes have few seeds and low moisture, making them ideal for a slow-cooked marinara or gourmet tomato confit.

Green Zebra (*Solanum lycopersicum* ‘Green Zebra’)

• Flavor: Tangy, citrusy
• Best use: Salsas, pickles, visual plating
• Recommended zones: USDA Zones 4–9
• Wine pairing: Sauvignon Blanc
• Cheese pairing: Goat cheese (chèvre)

Green Zebra tomatoes offer a sharp, citrus-like acidity that brightens any dish.

Having it in a box does make it easier to pull out of the fridge and does protect then tomatoes from bruising.

This variety is open-pollinated, but since it was first sold in the 1980s, it’s not truly a historical heirloom.