Ethiopian Black — Pleasant late-season surprise

Black Ethiopian has been one of this year’s most pleasant surprises. It was the first tomato in my garden to yield ripe fruit in early spring, and the last one to continue flowering and setting new fruit in early July, when most other varieties had already stopped for the season. NE Texas, 8a.

Picked a dozen over the last couple days and ate them for breakfast this morning, sliced onto avocado toast with bacon. They are roughly the size of a golf ball except oval shaped, and averaged 42.3 grams each, about 1.5 ounces. They were slightly larger early in the season, 2 to 3 ounces. The seed catalogue says they should weigh 4 or 5 ounces, but that was not my experience.

They are two-chambered tomatoes, bi-loculate, similar inside structurally to Amish Paste and San Marzano. High ratio of flesh to gel, good for making sauce as well as being fine for fresh eating. They have a fruity, complex flavor, full and rich. Very similar taste and texture to one of my other dark favorites, Japanese Black Trifele.

The history of these tomatoes comes in two distinct versions. Some claim it originated in the highlands of Ethiopia centuries ago and others claim it originated in Ukraine and was only given its African name for marketing purposes.

If you enjoy dark tomatoes and are looking for small ones with a long season, you might want to check out Black Ethiopian. I bought the seeds from Tomatofest in Mendocino County California.