There are a lot of different types of tomatoes. From the sweet cherry tomatoes to giant beefsteak’s there is something for every tomato lover to enjoy.
Tomatoes can be broken down into two main types, hybrid and open pollinated. Open pollinated varieties grow true from seeds saved from last year’s fruits. These include the so-called heirloom varieties that are becoming more popular.
Hybrids are plants that have been selectively bred. Unlike open pollinated varieties, the seeds from these plants will revert to the properties of one or the other of the plants that they were bred from and not retain the qualities that they were bred to have. These types of tomatoes are bred to have certain qualities such as disease resistance, color, taste, acidity, and so on.
Time to harvest is another way to classify the various types of tomatoes. Early, mid-season and late varieties should be planted to ensure a steady supply of ripe tomatoes. There is nothing more frustrating , even for a tomato lover, than to have so many ripe tomatoes at one time that you don’t know what to do with them.
They can also be classified by color. Most of us grew up thinking that tomatoes were red, but there are most of the colors of the rainbow available.
There are tomatoes that have specific qualities that make them suited for different uses. Roma tomatoes for example are best suited for making tomato sauce or paste.
They are not as juicy as other types of tomatoes so it’s easier to make sauce from them. They are also good in salsas, not contributing as much juice to the final product.
Acidity is another property that varies from one type of tomato to another as is sweetness, although sometimes the lack of acidity is taken as sweetness.