CAMO'S REVIEW AND TASTE THREAD.

[garrett]

THE REDNECKS HAVE SPOKEN CAMO.smiles by popular demand.....
camo's mater thread..............
take it awaaaaaaaaaaaaay camo.................
first on yer list issssssssssssssss???

[camochef]

As a new member here, I thought I'd start with a little background. Although I recognize some names , there are many I don't know.
I've been growing tomatoes for over 50 years, heirlooms for about 10 years or so. Those that know me, are aware of my love for Brandywines, especially Pink Brandywines and Brandywine crosses and similar types. That said I try to be fair in my assessments of all varieties and I know we all cannot be in agreement on different varieties. While you may not agree on my favorites and I may not care for yours we need not get into major disagreements.
Most years I grew between 300-400 tomatoes, although the past couple years I've cut back drasticly. As you all know, we have good years and bad. This was not one of my better years as I grew in a new garden area and although I limed heavily last fall and again this spring I was plagued with Early Blight and Septoria. Once fruit formed I was hit hard with "BER" This was more due to the cool wet spring and inconsistant weather patterns than anything else.
All that said, here's the first review:

2011 Tomato Tastings

Cowlick Brandywine-R.L.– This was the first tomato from my gardens to taste! It was picked on 9 July,(along with eleven others to ripen that day). It wasn’t the largest Cowlick’s but it was vine ripened. It weighed only 9 ½ oz. I sliced it into fairly thick slices and then quartered each slice. I tried the first piece plain. No salts, no Zatarain’s, no dressings, DeNada, nothing! It had a strong old-fashioned tomato taste that had been gone for what seemed forever at that moment. Nothing like the farm stand tomatoes I had been buying for the past month or more and surely unlike the supermarket tomatoes that were from Mexico. I immediately noticed that the skin was quite thick...not like a Brandywine at all, but the taste more than made up for it.
The second piece got a light sprinkling of California Garlic/Sea Salt which woke everything up including me. This particular mix is much more garlicy than salty and it screamed enhancement.
The third piece was sprinkled lightly with the contents of the Bear...Freshly filled with Zatarain’s Creole Seasoning. It was Sensational! Oh what a wonderful taste. Heavenly! I was in Paradise! It was gone much too quickly. But I wasn’t done.
I had recently changed my favorite salad dressing ( Good Season’s-Garlic Herb), from using quality Extra-Virgin Olive Oil to using Grapeseed Oil, anf from using either Red Wine Vinegar or Cider Vinegar to White Balsamic Vinegar. I tried it on the Cowlick’s R.L. Taste was over the top! I often thought that nothing could beat Zatarains for accompanying the fine taste of a quality tomato, except bacon, maybe. But I was in a quandry. I went back and forth between the two. One piece with Zatarain’s; one with Grapeseed/White Balsamic. Both were so good! Totally different, yet so stimulating on the tastebuds. The Zatarain’s left my tastebuds (and lips and tongue), wheeling with the slightly burning sensations of that stimulating condiment but the Good Season’s Garlic Herb dressing had a somewhat sweet aftertaste that stayed with me for quite some time.
Oh, the tomato itself was quite tasty too. It did have a small core, like most Brandywines, but that thick skin was unusual and worrysome. I also detected a somewhat bitter taste in the skin. For the first taste test it was still a delightful experience.
Those unfamiliar with the history of Cowlick's Brandywines will note this is the R.L. and not the original Potato Leaf that I've grown for about 5 years. It came from Jon in Alabama who received his Cowlick seeds from Tim (Pruden's Purple), who I sent a large amount to.
In all my years growing Cowlick's (and many years 25-30 plants/year), I always had Potato Leafed.
Still, This Regular Leafed variety does ripen earlier. Four days earlier this year, (about a week earlier last year). Taste is identical between R.L. and P.L. or close enough that I cannot detect any difference.

[garrett]

ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh camo...................droooooooling in texas.missed yer reviews ........
a sight fer sore eyes..................smiles

[camochef]

2011 Tomato Tastings
Barlow Jap- This was the second tomato tasted this year. After having tasted the Cowlick’s R.L. I just had to have more. This one was 6 3/4 oz. And I sliced the entire tomato right away. I then quartered the slices as before. I noticed on my first taste of it plain that it too had a strong old-timey tomato taste and a thick skin also. I wondered if the weather this year was causing such uncustumarily thick skins.
I skipped the garlic sea salt and went right to the Zatarain’s. The taste was fantastic! Very similar to the Cowlick-R.L., perhaps just a bit tastier. This tomato also had a small core, which is one of the traits I like in a tomato.
I continued with the garlic herb dressing, alternating between pieces with Zatarain’s and dressing, just like before. I was enjoying every bite! If asked which was better I’d have to rate the Barlow Jap just slightly ahead of the Cowlick-R.L., by a very thin margin. I’d have to rate the dressing just ahead of the Creole Seasoning by an even smaller margin! Still concerned about that thicker skin!
This tomato has been in the top 6 or better for a few years now. This one was somewhat smaller than average as they usually weigh between 3/4 lb. to a lb or more.

[camochef]

2011 Tomato Tastings
Liz Birt- I tasted two of these yesterday, (11 July), and three today. While none of them were great-sized, they were vine ripe. (All in the 4 ½-5 ½ oz range). As I first sliced them I noticed how the skin was much thinner than the previous varieties. I took hold and literally peeled it right off in two-or three pieces on each tomato. Never had a tomato peel so easily. I liked that!
I tasted the first piece. Hmmm, especially tasty! By itself, without any enhancement at all, it was even better tasting than either Barlow Jap or Cowlick’s Regular Leaf Brandywine. Now I remember why I sang praises for this variety last year.
I tried a little garlic/sea salt...good but not outstanding.
Then came the little glass bear of Zatarain’s Creole seasoning. Again, delightful taste enhancement. (For those that have never tried sprinkling a little Zatarain’s Creole Seasoning on a tomato, you owe it to yourself to give it a try. It’s also sensational on sweet corn and other veggies too!). Having so many to try, I enjoyed quite a few pieces before moving on to the Good Season’s -Garlic Herb dressing with the sweet White Balsamic vinegar and the very light Grapeseed oil. To say I enjoyed every bite would be an enormous understatement.
I’m not going to say it was worth waiting all these months for such a taste treat because it was way to long in coming. I will say that I savored every bite and was more than happy to take my time enjoying the sweet, lingering taste, which wipes away every trace of the Zatarains fire that would normally remain behind.
At this stage, ( which is very early), Liz Birt is the best tasting, and thinnest skinned tomato with virtualy no core, of the group. Barlow Jap is number 2 and Cowlick’s Brandywine-R.L. is at number 3. I’m sure this will all change, probably with the next tasting.
Bottom Line- A great tasting tomato!
Yes, I did remember to save some seed from this one.
For those unfamiliar with Liz Birt, it's one of the "four sisters" developed by Keith Mueller from Pink Brandywine/Cherokee Purple Cross. This one is Pink and is the best tasting of the group this year. The other three are Dora, Bear Creek, and Gary O'Sena. Last year, Bear Creek which favors the Cherokee Purple side of the cross (Black), took my #1 tasting tomato over-all.

[camochef]

Tarasenko6- This large oblate red tomato is very meaty yet very juicy-this is my best tasting RED tomato-nothing else comes close. I wish it was that easy to call with Pinks or Blacks.
It has thin skin, basicly no core to speak of-good size, great taste with or without enhancements. A very well balanced tomato, perhaps just a little to the sweet side. Great on sandwiches, from burgers to BLT’s or just with a bit of mayo on bread. (Fresh ground black pepper and some pink Himalayan sea salt doesn’t hurt either!).
No Question! Best of the RED tomatoes!
This season the largest was just over a lb. Last year it was closer to two lbs. I had 4 of these this year in different areas in the garden and they did have some “BER” problems early on.
Of the first eleven tomatoes to ripen, (2) were Tarasenko6 and (3) were Liz Birt.

[garrett]

tarasenko6? really?
all around all use winner camo?

[camochef]

2011 Tomato Tastings
Amazon Chocolate-After starting last year on the wrong foot, but recovering somewhat towards the end of the season, this one almost didn’t make this years garden. I’m glad it did make it after tasting todays somewhat small specimen. Going through the usual routine, this stoodout as the best tasting variety yet without any enhancements.
It had the perfect balance of sweet/acid flavors, not tart, but not overly sweet either. I was very pleased with its taste before adding a little garlic salt. Thought it was even better with that garlicky flavor, but then I think most things are better with a bit of garlic flavor and the small amount of sea salt in the combination only sharpens the taste.
I then tried the bear...I have rarely found a tomato yet that isn’t lifted closer to heaven with the bear. That mixture of salt, sugar, cayenne pepper, garlic, onion, spices, and flavor enhancers goes so well with tomatoes that it would almost be sinful to be caught without it during gardening season. I had to have a few pieces with it, just to satisfy my desires before moving on to that awesome dressing with the sweetness that quickly masks the burning sensations from the Zatarain’s Creole Seasoning in the bear.
The remainder of that tomato was enjoyed with the white balsamic vinegar and grapeseed combo of Good season’s Garlic herb dressing except for one piece I reserved to taste with the white balsamic alone. At first the vinegar seemed somewhat shocking but as it lingered on my palette I soon found it quite agreeable. I could see this wasn’t going to be the final taste test of the afternoon.
The tomato itself was very good, even excellent wouldn’t be out of reach. It had a thin skin which peeled off rather easily. Not quite as easy as the Liz Birt but much better than most. It’s core was very small but it’s taste was superb. Easily moves into the #1 position, followed by Liz Birt at #2.
Barlow Jap at #3, and the R.L. Cowlick Brandywine at #4. Never thought I’d see the day that Cowlick’s would be holding down the last place!

I've been growing Amazon Chocolate for about 5 years now and its always been one of the best tasting dark/black tomatoes. Last year it had a few taste problems early in the season but soon returned to its tasty status. This year its been among the top three blacks all season. The other two being Dana's Dusky Rose and Bear Creek. To be perfectly honest it would depend on which one I was tasting at the time to consider which was best. I guess Amazon Chocolate would be the best of the three simply because of their larger size.
DDR is more of a medium-sized tomato and Bear Creek is between the two. Amazon Chocolate also was one of the first eleven to ripen. Right now, they have more tomatoes on them than either Bear Creek or DDR.

[cottonpicker]

Cottonpicker, here...... Glad to be among some "old friends" from other forums. Just "joined-up" today after Camo told me about this new forum. I am growing three that Camo mentioned in his marathon review--- Tarasenko6, Barlow Jap & Dana's Dusky Rose. All are winners in the flavor department as far as I'm concerned. We like Dana's Dusky Rose as #1 and it's a "toss-up" between BJap & T6.

Karma to ya, camo, for doing a yeoman's job in the "Review Dept.".
LarryD

[garrett]

lovin the reviews camo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
welcome cottonpicker.......smiles

[grapenut]

Yippie! Camo and Cottonpicker are in da house.

[camochef]

Aug 18, 2011 14:34:02 GMT -5 garrett said:

tarasenko6? really?
all around all use winner camo?

Garrett,
I have very few Red tomatoes growing, mostly Pinks and Blacks. I think the only other reds out there are Kukla's Portugese paste. Over the years, I've grown many reds that I considered favorites but as others come along that stand out for one reason or another...
The last few reds were Boxcar Willie and Preacher Joe, before them it was probably Red Brandywine. The past couple years or so Tarasenko6 has topped the list as my favorite red.
They are fairly large, very tasty and quite productive, at least here in Pennsylvania.
Camo

[camochef]

Aug 18, 2011 15:38:38 GMT -5 cottonpicker said:

Cottonpicker, here...... Glad to be among some "old friends" from other forums. Just "joined-up" today after Camo told me about this new forum. I am growing three that Camo mentioned in his marathon review--- Tarasenko6, Barlow Jap & Dana's Dusky Rose. All are winners in the flavor department as far as I'm concerned. We like Dana's Dusky Rose as #1 and it's a "toss-up" between BJap & T6.

Karma to ya, camo, for doing a yeoman's job in the "Review Dept.".
LarryD

Glad to see you here cottonpicker, I hope your enjoying all three of my favorites. The best tasting red, the favorite pink and a great black thats in a constant 3-way tie.
You haven't given up on Earl's Faux have you? Review for that will be coming soon.
Enjoy!
Camo

[camochef]

2011 Tomato Tastings
Black Master- After just finishing the great tasting Amazon Chocolate, I desired another dark-skinned tomato. I therefore chose Black Master. Not quite as good-looking as the Amazon Chocolate with its green shoulders conflicting with it’s dark mahogany color, I began slicing it anyway. I then quartered the slices and took my first taste.
Definately not the same tomato...this one had a bite to it that the Amazon Chocolate lacked. It’s hard to explain to someone unfamiliar with a “bite” of a tomato, just what that’s like. When you first taste it, your overwhelmed with the acidic taste that floods your mouth an almost makes you pucker somewhat. Your throat wants to close so you can’t swallow whats scaring your tastebuds so. Then the sweeter overtones begin to make their presence known and your tastebuds realize that it’s not a threat, but something that could be a pleasant experience after all.
Just as quickly, you find yourself desiring another taste. The addition of a little garlic salt doesn’t change much but the saltiness sharpens the taste somewhat. When you add the Bear, things really awaken. Taste is enhanced tenfold! I enjoyed piece after piece with the bear...then realized I’d better try that dressing before this tomato is gone. I sprinkled, or drizzeled some onto the remaining pieces. The sweetness masked the bite completely. It didn’t deter from the wonderful taste, just covered that acidic bite. All too soon, it was gone.
It had a thin skin, but didn’t peel as easily as some others. It was just as meaty as the Amazon Chocolate and had a very small core. All plus factors to me, but the most important thing is there are so many more of these sitting on my kitchen table right now. I only have one plant this year, but it is full of tomatoes, many which have ripened in the last few days. Another good thing!
Right now, it’s the #2 dark tomato!
This was written earlier in the season and Blackmaster fell back a few places once Dana's Dusky Rose and Bear creek ripened. I must also add, this is my third season growing Blackmaster and I really like the tomato but its more like a semi determinate. it really puts out a lot of ripe tomatoes early then it cuts back as the season progresses. It will continue in my tomato gardens along with the other three dark tomatoes previously mentioned.
Like my top three this was also a regular leafed plant,(although Amazon Chocolate can be either R.L. or P.L. all of mine were R.L. this year).

[camochef]

2011 Tomato Tastings
Mrs Benson-This was also a smaller sized tomato. It might have been small in size, but not in taste. I’ve grown this variety for a few years now and find myself attracted to its flavor. Not as “old timey’ tasting as some have been, nor having a bite like others. This is just a good-tasting tomato. It’s pink skin is a little tougher than some of the others have been and it doesn’t peel very well either...but I like its taste a lot.
Doing the usual routine, plain-it’s a tasty tomato. With a little garlic salt it’s even better. Add some of the bear and it becomes a tomato worth talking about. There are some tomatoes that really shine when the bear sprinkles that Zatarain’s Creole seasoning upon them and this is one of those. This tomato was made for Zatarain’s. It takes it from a tasty tomato to a ...TASTY TOMATO!
This one had very little core and even though it was much smaller than what this variety usually produces it was very good. I almost forgot to save some for the dressing test but had a couple pieces. It really changes the flavor, becoming quite sweet. Another great tomato, sliding between Barlow Jap and Cowlick’s R.L.
This was my initial review on this tomato. As the season progressed, so did the size of this tomato until there were some close to one pound. As they get very plentiful as the season goes on, they begin to get somewhat smaller in size. Right now, they probably have more tomatoes on them than any other out there. I think this was my third possibly fourth year growing these. It will more than likely remain a garden favorite.

[camochef]

Lillian Maciejewski’s Poland Pink-This first one was small, almost heart shaped, (not usual), with very little seeds. I doubt there were 20 seeds in the entire tomato.
Plain it had a slightly tart taste initially with a lingering aftertaste of sweetness. A light touch of pink seasalt does eliminate the sweetness and enhances the tomato flavor.
A light amount of Zatarain’s masks the tartness entirely and stimulates the tastebuds in an exciting and dramatic style! I ran out of tomato at this point.
My next one was much larger in size, just under one pound. Still it had very little seeds, less than 60, which for a large tomato is extraordinary.. I keep saying that this would make a great sauce tomato, but I keep eating them before they get a chance to be in the saucepot. Maybe in my heart, I feel it’s too good of a tomato to go into sauce. It certainly is a great sandwich tomato. Only had two plants this year but they produced quite a large amount of tomatoes. Still plenty of smaller ones out there but the birds seem to like these more than some of the others.
This was an old family heirloom that came to me from Blu who got hers from and old neighbor that brought them to this country when she was much younger. I’ve been growing them for a few years now.

[camochef]

Purple Dog Creek- This was a pink oblate tomato of good size. It had somewhat thicker skin, but peeled easily. The Tomato has a somewhat tart, and unusual taste that I found quite delightful. I tried some pieces with pink Himalayan sea salt, and some with Zatarain’s Creole Seasoning, but prefered it plain, so’ not to mask that unusual taste. Core is scattered type, and runs through a good per-centage of the tomato. Other than that fault it’s a great tasting tomato. It was the last specimen to ripen out of this years main selections. Even Dora ripened sooner and Terhune, (another late ripener), beat Dora by over a week.
The second one I ate was more pink-orange in color, but taste was almost identical. Both were very large specimens. Looking forward to trying a third.
The third specimen was a deep pink, weighing just over a pound. Upon slicing, one is impressed with the meatiness of the tomato. Tasting it, the complex flavors become the main focus. This tomato tastes like no other tomato I’ve ever grown. It’s also much better on its own so its unusual flavor can be fully appreciated. Thus far, every one has been in the one pound plus range. A very impressive tomato.

Purple Dog Creek- A medium large pink oblate tomato. Thin-skinned but doesn’t peel easily. It’s complex flavors taste good with pink Himalayan sea salt and a slight amount of California Garlic/sea salt but are masked somewhat by the use of a little Zatarain’s.
So far, all have been nice-sized and quite tasty. Though meaty it’s also very juicy. A great tasting pink that will be in my gardens for sometime to come. This was my first year growing this variety and I thank Ginny from Mi. For sending it to me. It takes quite a bit for a new to me variety to really impress me and this one did just that. A truely spectacular pink tomato!

Ate another Purple Dog Creek today for lunch. Had this one in a mushroom/tomato/red onion salad with some olives, baco’s and munster and swiss cheese. It was simply wonderful with Grapeseed oil and White Balsamic vinegar dressing. I have noticed that as the season progressed the thicker skins have given way to more typical thinner skins. This one peeled fairly easily. While I’m planning on cutting back the amount of tomatoes grown in the future even more than I had this year, I’m certain that there will be more than enough room for Purple Dog Creek. It’s one of the best tasting, even going up against many of my favorites.

This is an early review followed by a later in the season review. Most years I grow what I consider my favorites and try to add some new to me varieties that have come highky recommended. This year I only had 7 new to me varieties and this was the most impressive.
I have many people send me seed of their favorite tomatoes. Some are very good some not so much. This is a very good one! Not only is it a complex tasting tomato, they are all very well-sized and somewhat more resistant to EB and Septoria for me this year. I had planted only one originally, but then planted three more with my replacements which are doing very well health wise. All are loaded with large tomatoes.

[camochef]

Cowlick’s Brandywine-P.L.- This was a medium-sized oblate Pink Brandywine, (potato-leafed, original), and is the best of the Brandywines so far! Well balanced- it’s very thin skin peels easily.
Plain: Excellent!
Pink sea salt: Excellent!
California Garlic/sea salt: Excellent!
Zatarain’s: Good but unnecessary!
This is why I grow tomatoes. This has been one of the best Brandywines I’ve grown, most of the past 5 years now. (It didn’t fair well last year in the severe drought and heat wave with 48 days in the 90's). It’s tasting somewhat better than the R.L. version although it did take longer to produce the first ripe one. It was well worth the wait!
Most years, this produces earlier, tastes better and lasts longer than the others, although last year Brandywine-Glicks was the best. They both beat Brandywine-Sudduths year after year for me here. Both in taste and production and certainly in size.

[camochef]

Bear Creek- This mahogany colored tomato, (more globular than oblate), with dark green shoulders took #1 overall last year in my taste tests. It might be a contender for that #1 spot again this year. I’ll have to eat more before making that decision. It was a thin-skinned tomato with very little core, which are important considerations toward that goal but it’s taste first, and production second that will win it a place at the top. So far, it has taste, but production is yet to be seen.
Plain, it was great with a well balanced taste. A light sprinkling of pink Himalayan sea salt was fantastic.
Zatarain’s was a bit overpowering. This is something I’ve noticed in the past with the best tasting tomatoes. This is another year that’s looking like a battle between Bear Creek and Amazon Chocolate so far.

Bear Creek-This medium large dark tomato with dark green shoulders was one of the best tasting tomatoes in the garden.
Plain-Excellent taste!
With Pink Himalayan sea salt-also excellent!
With Olde Thompson California Garlic/Sea Salt- Excellent!
With Zatarain’s Creole Seasoning- Excellent!
What we have here is a tomato that just might take #1, two years in a row!
It’s thin skin peels well, it has little core and Great Taste!

Bear Creek- This Black oblate was my # 1 choice last year for taste and production. This year its still one of the best tasting Dark tomatoes running neck and neck with Dana’s Dusky Rose and Amazon Chocolate as far as taste. Not doing so well in production. It’s a very tasty tomato with a somewhat tart taste. It’s a solid meaty tomato that does well with all the enhancements! Still, It’s a three way tie between it and Amazon Chocolate and Dana’s Dusky Rose for # 1 dark or Black tomato this year. It’s one of the 4 sister from Keith Mueller’s Brandywine Pink/Cherokee Purple crosses and is highly recommended IMO as a must grow!

These were 3 different tastings throughout the season and while similar, have additional info in each. I think all four of Keith Muellers sisters well worth growing. Although this year, Gary O'Sena plants (2), didn't fair as well as it has in the past couple years. Liz Birt (another sister in his Brandywine/Cherokee purple crosses), was the best of the pink side of the family, Dora wasn't far behind.

[camochef]

Dora-This medium-sized pink oblate is one of the last to ripen. (24July). It’s a very meaty tomato with only 8 small gel pockets around the exterior only, the center is all meaty tomato.
Plain it was lacking somewhat in taste, but adding a touch of pink Himalayan sea salt brings out its wonderful flavors. As does the garlic/sea salt but in a more drastic manner.
The addition of some fresh ground Tellicherry black pepper is a welcomed addition, and with some pink sea salt can be quite delightful. But Zatarain’s Creole seasoning is extremely pleasing.
It’s very thin skin peels off quite easily and the core is almost non-existant.
In 2009, this tomato was sensational. Not nearly as impressive in 2010 but it’s riding high, once again, in 2011. Another great tomato from the Brandywine/Cherokee Purple sisters of Keith Mueller of Mo.
The others are Liz Birt, Bear Creek, and Gary O’Sena.

Dora-Medium-sized to large pink oblate tomato. One of the 4 sisters created by Keith Mueller from Brandywine Pink and Cherokee Purple Cross. While Dora isn’t as great as it’s sister Liz Birt in my opinon, it’s not far behind. It is somewhat more Days To Maturity than Liz Birt though. The other two sisters are Bear Creek and Gary O’Sena. Bear Creek is a Cherokee Purple side of the famly member and is a great Dark tomato, Gary O’sena is my least favorite of the four,as they just didn't do as well this year as they have in the past.
Dora is not as thin-skinned as others that I like but it is quite tasty and well worth growing. Tasty by itself, it’s even better with some pink Himalayan sea salt but really shines with some Zatarain’s. Also one of the healthiest looking plants of my original plantings. It does get morning shade. Another not to be overlooked!

[camochef]

Dana’s Dusky Rose- A medium-sized dark oblate with dark green shoulders. It’s very thin skin peels extremely easily. It’s a solid, meaty tomato with excellent taste, slightly to the sweet side of perfect balance. It’s very tasty, might be better than Bear Creek or Amazon Chocolate...Decisions-Decisions!
It’s excellent plain.
It’s excellent with Pink Himalayan sea salt.
It’s excellent with Olde Thompson’s California Garlic/Sea Salt.
It’s excellent with Zatarain’s Creole Seasoning.
It’s excellent on a burger.
It’s excellent as a tomato sandwich, moreso with a little mayo.
It’s excellent in a salad, especially with white balsamic vinegar and grapeseed oil.
It’s excellent on a BLT, but then almost every tomato of size is.
All-around excellent tomato!

Dana’s Dusky Rose- This medium-sized dark mahogany colored oblate tomato with dark green/grey shoulders has thin skin, peels easily, has little core and GREAT TASTE!
With pink sea salt, garlic salt, or zatarain’s this is a fantastic tasting tomato! One of the top three dark tomatoes. Bear Creek and Amazon Chocolate being the other two. I guess it depends which one I’m eating at the time to get my favorite vote.
Also have True Black Brandywine, Black Brandywine, (from 3 different sources producing 3 different types of tomatoes), JD’s Special C-Tex, Indian Stripe, Vorlon, Black Master, Big Cheef, growing this year , and the only one’s close would be Black Master and perhaps Big Cheef.
In the past I’ve grown everything from Carbon to Paul Robeson, Frankstein Black to Mr. Brown, Black to Southern Night, Black from Tula to Black Star, German Black to Bordo, Black Seaman to Cherokee Chocolate, Black Prince to Japanese Black Trifele, Nyagous to the ever popular Cherokee Purple, and taste-wise, none of them can compare!
I must admit that last year Indian Stripe was the best producer in my gardens, Not so this year. 2009 also saw Indian Stripe as large tomatoes, but not since.

DDR was discovered by Dana Gilmore of Dana's Flower and Garden place from seeds that were supposed to be Goldy, but turned out to be what has now become a well known black tomato topping the list of everybody's favorites. It's usually about 3/4 lb. but some get a little larger. This is one of my favorite black tomatoes and if you taste it you'll soon know why.

[camochef]

Dana’s German Johnson- A nice, pink, almost more globular than oblate, yet still oblate tomato. It has somewhat thick skin that does not peel easily. It’s a solid tomato, but still has a juiciness thats more than expected from such a meaty interior.
Taste is a little to the tart side of center. Not the least bit offensive. It’s good plain, better with a light sprinkling of pink sea salt, but even better with some garlic salt. It’s outstanding with some Zatarain’s Creole Seasoning. A great sandwich tomato!

Dana’s German Johnson-With the end of tomato season approaching rapidly, which is quite early this year, it was time to compare to the early testings.This was a large pink, slightly oblate tomato from a R.L. plant. It had a rather thick skin that failed to peel easily. It was very solid-meaty flesh was very tasty. Not what I would consider overly juicy , but it certainly had a great tomato taste.
A little pink Himalayan sea salt increased it’s good taste even more.
Olde Thompson California Garlic/Sea salt, which is very high in granulated garlic over the usual amount of sea salt found in most blends was even better tasting but Zatarain’s Creole Seasoning made it super tasty!
With so much competition in pink tomatoes, and my desire to reduce the size of my tomato gardens even more in the future, I cannot say for certain, that I’ll be growing this one every year, but it certainly is one to consider.
While there are many different German Johnson's out there, both regular leafed and tomato leafed, this one is different than most. It was given to Dana's family years ago as a family heirloom from a loyal customer and friend... Jim Benton. I know it was one of Dana's favorites for years. Most years it's what would be considered a large pink.

[camochef]

DDRXBW-C (DDR-2)-A cross between Dana’s Dusky Rose and Cowlick’s Brandywine (P.L.) Which I’m growing for the 2nd year now. It’s a medium sized oblate shaped pink tomato, on a regular leafed plant. It’s usually picture perfect! It’s thin skin peels very easily. It’s meaty flesh is still quite juicy and it yeilds a good amount of seeds. Taste is well-balanced, not overly sweet but not acidic or tart either. It tastes great with a light sprinkling of Pink Himalayan sea salt, or an even lighter sprinkling of Olde Thompsons California Garlic /sea salt or Zatarain’s Creole Seasoning. Its fantastic on a burger or a tomato sandwich, with or without a little mayo. It’s just as at home in a salad.
It’s going to be very difficult to choose the best in the pink tomato category but this one is certainly a contender!

[camochef]

Earl's Faux is an oblate pink tomato that I'm growing for the third or fourth year in a row now. This one was fairly good sized had thin skin, lots of seeds and gel and a real good tomato taste. The best of todays tastings so far. I enjoyed it plain, with a little pink himalayan sea salt it was great, as it enhanced the taste even more.
Zatarain's was good with it, but it was just as good without it. The dressing was somewhat sweet but it's still #1 for today...returning to just plain tomato it shows off its acidic bite that actually gives me a puckering feeling in my jaw just below my ears. It tastes much better than it has in past years! Oh yea, it had very little core, and big taste, it's thin skin could be peeled easily but did tear occasionally as it was so thin. Great tasting tomato this year, and it hasn't had any "BER" and very little foliage disease. It too, gets morning shade, but full day and evening sun.

[camochef]

Kukla’s Portugese Beefsteak- This was rather small for a beefsteak but I found it to be very juicy with large-sized seeds in 9-10 gel pockets around the exterior. The center was solid meat! Slightly sweet taste but not overly sweet.
Plain -slightly sweet, juicy with a decent tomato taste. No noticeble difference with Pink Himalayan sea salt. It tasted it’s best with a light sprinkle of Zatarain’s.
It’s thin skin peeled easily. It had a small core. Even though the seeds were large, there weren’t many of them! A tasty tomato!

As the season progressed these got impressively larger. A newcomer in my gardens this year it was impressive enough to gain future admittance.

[camochef]

Kukla’s Portugese Bulls Heart-This is a medium sized red heart-shaped tomato. While I can say I’m not overly fond of heart shaped tomatoes for many reasons, from the usually spindly looking plants to the fact that I prefer slicers that easily cover a slice of bread. I have to admit, this is the best tasting heart-shaped tomato I ever recall tasting, replacing Wes as my favorite heart. Its thin (yellow) skin peels easily. It has little core, but great taste. I did the usual plain, with pink Himalayan sea salt, the garlic/sea salt, and the Zatarain’s Creole seasoning. Then returned to plain to finish it up. All passed with flying colors! A truly tasty heart-shaped tomato. Production isn’t going to win it any rewards as, like most heart-shaped tomatoes, it’s not a heavy producer. It was also one of the last tomatoes to ripen. If you like heart-shaped tomatoes you’ll probably enjoy this one with its well balanced taste which is just slightly sweet.
It was another new to me variety this year, and it was so sparse and sickly looking I almost pulled it before it produced any tomatoes. Then suddenly, while everything else was producing many ripe tomatoes the first litte greenies began to form on it. They eventually turned into nice large heart-shaped red tomatoes. Many of them went into the sauce pot, but I'm glad I tasted a few first.

[camochef]

Kukla’s Portugese Paste-This red tomato looks more like a long pepper. It is thin skinned, very meaty, and peels easily.It has very few seeds, (76 in the large one I tested). It’s fairly well balanced, perhaps a tad to the sweet side. While lacking the taste of an Opalka on a good year, or Wessel’s Purple Pride any year that I’ve grown them, it’s not a bad paste tomato.-of course a little Zatarain’s makes it a much better tasting tomato, but that’s standard with almost any tomato.
The first couple did suffer with “BER” but it got over it quickly. I only ate 1 or 2 as most went into the saucepot while canning.

[camochef]

JD’s Special C-Tex-Another dark oblate tomato with dark green-grey shoulders and rich mahogany colored skin. Its thin skin does not peel too easily. While not a bad tomato, it’s not like Bear Creek, Dana’s Dusky Rose or Amazon Chocolate which are much more consistant in their taste. I’ve noticed that JD’s Special C-Tex is more like Cherokee Purple...it has good years & bad years. This has not been one of its better years, either in taste or production. I have grown it for a few years now and its had some great years in the past producing really large tasty tomatoes that were very plentiful. This year not so much.

[camochef]

Pink Sweet-A large oblate pink tomato that should be called Pink Sweet Meaty and Tasty-With plenty of tomato taste. This solid fleshed tomato is still quite juicy and although its thin skin doesn’t peel all that easily...who cares. It’s a little sweeter than many of my favorites, but not too sweet to detract from its wonderful taste.
I grew it for a few years in the past and I now wonder why I eliminated it back then. It’s a very good tomato that produces some good-sized tomatoes, quite well . It will return to my favorites list. Don’t overlook this one!
Like Barlow Jap this one produces lots of really nice sized pink tomato slicers fairly early and continues to produce much later than many other varieties. If memory serves me well, and it doesn’t always anymore, I received my original seeds from tomatofest back in ‘07 or so.

[camochef]

Royal Hillbilly-This pink oblate tomato ranges from medium-sized to quite large but most are around a pound or a little less. It’s another picture perfect tomato and has a taste to match! A great tomato for just about any sandwich or burger. Not sweet but not tart either. It is somewhat juicy yet has a good meaty texture... great with all enhancements but really explodes with flavor when sprinkled lightly with some Zatarains Creole Seasoning.
While its skin is not thick or thin it is delicate and tears easily making it difficult to peel. It’s another tomato with what I call a scattered core. This is a little later than most to ripen, but another thats worth waiting for.
These seeds originally came from Mariseeds in 2007. While many of the original plantings are coming to an end this is one that's still going strong. This year its in a section of garden that gets late afternoon shade. Seems that some shade helped many plants this year with the extreme temperatures we suffered through. Our highest being 107 degrees according to the news, but registering 115 degrees on three seperate thermometers here our yard. (was also the day the electric went out for over 6 hours.