First time growing the Cherokee purple this year, and it wasn’t as sweet and flavorful as most people describe it to be! The CP’s are one of my biggest tomatoes, but they were a bit lacking in flavor – it honestly tasted like a grocery store tomato. The Japanese black trifele and black krim by contrast are much smaller but super sweet and have a deeper, richer umami flavor.
by dressedinblvck
14 Comments
Yup, it’s a highly over-rated tomato. It just looks pretty.
I definitely agree.. Black Krim and Japanese Black, some of my favorite tomatoes by far.
Try Black Cherry too 🙂
I agree. Grew them both last year. The CP produced larger fruit and BK tasted so must better and was a prolific producer. This year it was just Early Girls and BK for me.
An observation – I started growing Cherokee Purple years ago, back when it was first introduced and the whole “heirloom tomato” craze was just becoming a known phenomenon, at least in the US. In fact, I think my Mom and I were growing it before anyone else we knew, and a lot of people questioned our sanity for growing such a “weird” tomato.
It was amazing. Not just gorgeous, but so delicious, juicy, enormous, absolutely perfect and I loved it. I grew it for years. I also grew up near the area of East TN where Craig LeHoullier first encountered the seeds, so perhaps “native ground” helped? I don’t know.
Anyway, fast forward many years and I don’t grow CP anymore. For one thing, it’s finicky and not a great producer. I’ve also discovered dozens of varieties that I prefer and CP isn’t anything new and different anymore. And lastly, I have to wonder how bastardized have some of those early seeds become by now? Because I swear the Cherokee Purples I’ve eaten recently are only a shell of the ones from back in the day. I also used to get better production, though it’s always been a bit stingy. Worth it if the taste is there, but I just don’t think it is anymore.
Thoughts on my conclusions?
Bummer. Soil makeup, gardener’s choices, and climate factors can all contribute to variation in fruit quality. Cherokee purple used to always be wonderful and flavorful in my old place, but it doesn’t grow well at all anymore n my current garden. And Black trifele is always mealy and bland in my garden. Black Krim and Paul Robeson are usually my best dark tomatoes!
I think I would have liked mine better if they weren’t SO hyped up.
It looks a little white on the inside, almost like it was maybe picked too early or maybe too much water? From my observations my best tomatoes have a deep color on the inside and the ones that are not as great have a lighter color.
I don’t know why but my garden is a CP production house. I never have trouble with the plants, they produce about 40-50 tomatoes per plant and have glorious fruit.
This one you have sliced up definitely looks underdeveloped. It also doesn’t look like the ones I grow that remain deep green at the stem.
I’ve become the tomato lady at work and every year people beg me to bring in the CPs I grow. Maybe it’s my special soil and the area where I live but they’re far and away the best tomato I’ve grown. I have no clue why I don’t have trouble with them like others do.
https://preview.redd.it/y4r9szk3bggf1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=17588fed87e804241250d4ab6bc13df7f39b9c08
Too much water/rain can dilute out the flavors too. I started growing in a high tunnel a few years ago and now the plant’s only source of water is drip irrigation. When I give people tomatoes they always comment on how much better the flavor is from the ones they’re growing (outdoors). It could be variety but I think the amount of water has something to do with it too. My CP are very flavorful, but I’ve also never tried the others you listed in comparison. They could be even better!
There are definitely some wrong seeds out there. Cherokee purple is one of my favorite tomatoes but I tasted some from a farmer I trust last year and he said he ordered seeds from a different company and he was not impressed either.
Sorry to hear Cherokee Purple was a disappointment. Hoping for you that they get better as more ripen.
Yes, Japanese Black Trifele is so, so good. A bit drippy, but delicious. Good luck with the rest of your season. 🍅😀
Must be something fucked up. Still hands down the best tasting tomato on my garden.
I found I like Black Kirk better. So if I only grow one black tomato, it’s BK. I do have a Cherokee purple in my garden this year after taking a break for a couple years, so I’m curious to try it again… but I suspect I’ll still prefer BK. 🙂
I had exactly the same experience with new to me CP this year. Flavor & texture were just meh…Black Kim is tasting good so far. Anyone tried Cherokee Carbon? I struggle to keep the heirlooms healthy here.
Awesome! What state?