After looking online, I couldn't find one place that sells black galaxy tomato seeds or plants. So, I'm posting a picture. Maybe better online searchers will be able to do it. Sure looks interesting.





Is that the right one, tee? It looks like one of those tomatoes that look nice, but taste terrible. Did you try it?

I think that's it. No, I haven't tried it. I can't locate the seeds anywhere. It is supposed to be highly nutritious.

Ah oh. Sounds like something mom would make us eat.

Could be. I've rarely, if ever, met a tomato I didn't like - unless it was totally bland.

I hope someone finds it, I would try it even if bland. In a salad with mixed tomatoes, not everything has to be delicious. Some tomatoes are just pretty.

I would definitely try it but might not continue with it if it is just way too bland.

I would try them too.

It looks to me like one of the many "blue" tomatoes that are now showing up, first developed at Oregon State University and also in England (although the latter supposedly more GMO than the former.) It seems to have the same characteristics, turning dark (call it blue or black) according to the sun exposure, containing anthocyanin (the blue pigment) from the "wild" tomatoes, etc. So far the ones I've tasted have been very bland but I hear if left much much longer on the vine they'll tend to gain better flavor.

Linda Sapp, owner of Tomato Growers Supply has now included seeds of a blue tomato in her menu of varieties if ya'll would like to start there.

Shoe

texaskitty111 said:I hope someone finds it, I would try it even if bland. In a salad with mixed tomatoes, not everything has to be delicious. Some tomatoes are just pretty.

I don't know about that. I would just buy tomatoes from the grocery and not grow anything if I didn't want delicious tomatoes.

Every time I eat bland tomatoes from the store, I wonder what nutrition value is left.

During winter, I think the reason I crave food from the garden is because of taste and more vitamins than I get in the winter buying from grocers. Being in a higher zone is also my motivation for winter gardening. It would be nice to have fresh stuff with all the vitamins and taste throughout the year. I love arugula in my salads, but the arugula I bought recently didn't have any of the taste I crave. I had to look at the package several times just to make sure arugula was supposed to be in the package.

Same with three packages of oranges I bought at different times. One of the reasons I don't like oranges is because I can't grow them myself. Never had any interest in large fruit trees. But the oranges I bought only looked like oranges. They were too bland to be called oranges and I think it is really insulting to be sold stuff that normally has a distinct flavor but tasted like they put a ml or two of orange juice in it. I ate several of them before giving up on the rest. I think my days of eating oranges are over.

I don't think we had very good tomatoes last year. It is the first time I ever was tired of eating the tomatoes out of the garden before the season ended. Gave a bunch of tomatoes away and everyone else liked them. Hoping the companion plants and different varieties will make a difference this year. I didn't have any herbs in the garden last year. Also better soil and the addition of homemade compost this year.

try here

http://www.seedstec.co.il/?cat...

That looks like the right tomato, franklin, but I don't see that they sell seeds. Too late this year anyway.

yum........ tomatoes - love to think about them in this cold time of year............

Missing fresh tomatoes, but glad to see this thread for ideas using those I canned over summer.

Tried making ketchup and canning barbecue sauce this summer too. Jury is still out whether I'll do ketchup again- it was a lengthy process, but the product is really good.

It is only December and I sure do miss my home grown tomatoes.

I have a lot of frozen tomatoes that, when I'm back in my own home, I'll try to make tomato sauce and/or ketchup with. I know ketchup has a lot of sugar.......

I looked at several recipes for ketchup before deciding on one, but some call for less sugar than others (I went with one in the mid range).

Susan, have you ever tried roasted tomato sauce? Its not only delicious, but is a great way to use a bumper crop of tomatoes and reduce the volume significantly. I haven't made any for a couple of years, but used to fill a Dutch oven with coarsely chopped tomatoes and roast them at 400F, stirring occasionally, until reduced in volume by at least half. Sometimes after reducing, I added more tomatoes and put it back in the oven. Afterwords just run through the blender and freeze or can.

I found it really brought out the natural sugars in the tomatoes. Making ketchup brought it to mind- I think next attempt at ketchup making I'll use roasted tomato sauce to start with. I feel I could get by with less sugar and it would be a less complicated process.

no, I've never roasted tomatoes this way - sounds good!!
My tomatoes are frozen, so don't think they would "chop" into coarse bits...... but close enough, right?

I think they would work fine- the tomatoes soon become a slurry once in the oven. Did you freeze them whole?

I make sauce by roasting tomatoes cut in half (or more chunks for larger tomatoes), squeezing out some of the seeds, then spreading them out on baking sheets and roasting in the over at 350F for 2-1/2 to 3 hours; then I put them through a food mill and freeze the sauce. Great way to use up all sorts of tomatoes, from cherry to beefsteak.



Neal, I've been thinking about using the sauce to make ketchup -- any chance you would share your recipe?

Sure Sandy, I'll need to find it- my internet connection is terrible at the moment, so I'm having trouble accessing my Pinterest board where I saved it. I'll post a link when I get it. I probably won't use that exact recipe again because it was a long and tedious process, but the seasonings were spot on so I will use that part.

The lengthy part of the process was slowly reducing the tomatoes to reach the desired thickness. Because so many tomatoes are so watery this takes a while (I used a crock pot with the lid askew, and let it go all night- no scorching this way). With future batches I think I will roast the tomatoes first. It seems an easier way to get the water out and I like how roasting develops the natural sweetness so that the ketchup will require less sugar.

I like your method of roasting spread out on a baking sheet like that! I will definitely try doing it that way next summer!