Orange tomatoes are different from traditional red ones and come in heirloom or newer breeds with higher beta-carotene content. When choosing, look for a vibrant color, sweet scent, firm skin, and lack of bruises or blemishes. Popular varieties include Sun Gold, Orange Pixie, and Orange Strawberry. When planting, consider the variety’s specific sun and water needs and fruit production.
Orange tomatoes differ from tomatoes traditionally grown in backyards and seen in grocery stores primarily in their color. The best way to choose orange tomatoes depends on whether you’re selecting tomatoes from a store shelf to use in home recipes or choosing tomato varieties to plant in a home garden. Either way, there will be no shortage of choices, and picking the best orange tomatoes isn’t difficult if you keep a few pertinent facts in mind. A vibrant color is a good sign, whether the tomato is a variety that comes in orange, yellow, purple or red, and a sweet scent and firm but also skin-giving skin are important, with no cracks, wrinkles or bruising spots.
An orange tomato in a grocery store could be an heirloom variety, a type that has been grown since the 1940s or earlier, or it could be a newer breed developed by an agricultural scientist that has a much higher beta-carotene content than to the more common red tomato. The increased level of beta-carotene gives these specially bred orange tomatoes their special hue. Some heirloom varieties sport grooves and lines and unusual shapes or markings. Heirlooms may be softer than other types of tomatoes grown and sold today, but they shouldn’t be soft. A softer heirloom tomato will have a juicier interior.
The smaller cherry tomatoes also come in a variety of colors, including orange, with some of the sweetest being orange or orange-yellow. One of the sweetest types available, Sun Gold, is one of the most preferred orange tomatoes due to its pleasant taste. Other favorites are the Orange Pixie, Flamme, Tangella and Sunsugar varieties. Like their larger, redder relatives, cherry tomatoes should be judged on their firm outer skin and lack of bruises, blemishes, and cracks.
The largest orange tomato varieties include Orange Strawberry, which is shaped like a large strawberry; Orange banana, which is also named for its shape; Verna Orange; Russian persimmon; and persimmons. A variety called Kentucky Beefsteak is a regular-sized orange tomato with green spots. In choosing orange tomato seeds for a home fruit crop, whether heirloom or modern varieties, a gardener should look into the variety’s specific sun and water needs, as well as how long it will take before it will produce fruit and how much fruit it tends to to produce.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
