Tomato Taste Test: Persimmon

Hard on the heels of ‘Black Sea Man’ is ‘Persimmon’, a medium to large orange tomato. This is a very pretty tomato, a glowing golden orange. The vines are indeterminate, meaning that they keep on growing and producing flowers as long as weather allows.

‘Persimmon’ is reputed to be a very sweet tomato, and RailGuy and I agreed that it is the sweetest of the three we’ve sampled this year, with a very pleasing taste. It is a meaty tomato without a lot of gel or seeds. As the citric and malic acids that give tomatoes their tang is stored in the gel, you would expect a tomato with less gel to be less acidic as is the case here. (That said, taste is derived from a complex combination of compounds.)

Last year, I grew ‘Nebraska Wedding’, another orange variety, which I liked very much. I think ‘Persimmon’ may be a bit sweeter but ‘Nebraska Wedding’ is a determinate tomato, so if space is an issue, it might be a better choice. Either makes an attractive addition to a salad or serving plate.

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