Beefsteak tomatoes

Beefsteak tomatoes produce the largest, most substantial fruit, but how do their yields and flavour compare to other tomatoes? Last year an RHS Plant Trial aimed to find out »

Author: Michael Michaud, nurseryman specialising in chillies and tomatoes

Is bigger better?

July 2015 | The Garden 67

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tomatoes are sometimes classified according to the size of their fruits, and so-called beefsteak types produce the

largest of all. Single beefsteak fruit often weigh more than 250g, and sometimes exceed 1kg (about 2 lb 3oz). In contrast, cherry types (such as ‘Gardener’s Delight’ and ‘Sungold’) weigh 12–25g (less than an ounce), while ‘classic’ round tomatoes (such as popular ‘Alicante’ and ‘Shirley’) tip the scales at 70–150g.

Beefsteak tomatoes are multi-locular – locules are the cavities within the fruit that contain the seeds – with at least five in each fruit. To varying degrees the fruit are ribbed and flattened, some distinctively so, but they can also be other shapes: ‘oxheart’ cultivars for example vaguely resemble a heart or pear.

Award-winning beefsteak tomatoes

The fruit of beefsteak tomatoes are usually red, though cultivar names provide clues of other possibilities: for example, ‘Orange Wellington’, ‘Cherokee Green’ and ‘Yellow Brandywine’ all reflect their colours. Sometimes two colours are mixed in the same fruit, as in the bright yellow and festive red of ‘Ananas’ and the purple and red of ‘Indigo Blue Beauty’.

Comparing the results from RHS tomato trials conducted over the years, beefsteak tomatoes are not as sweet as the smaller fruits of the cherry and plum types. Sugar levels, measured by the Brix scale, ranged from 4.0 to 6.5 for beefsteak cultivars evaluated in the 2014 trial, compared to 8.8–10.5 for smaller-fruited cultivars tested in 2007. Despite this disparity, the sugar concentrations of the beefsteaks are still respectable and mirror those found in classic

3 ‘Brutus’: open-pollinated. Ribbed fruit with greening at the shoulders; fruit average 419g;

pleasant, refreshing flavour; good yield.

2 ‘Pembepanter’: open-pollinated. Fruit have a matt, red-pink

surface; average 282g and have a firm flesh; good taste and yield.

agm subject to availability.

1 ‘Tomande’: F1 hybrid bred for

the Italian market. Fruit light-tasting

with smooth skin and deep red surface;

average weight 331g; good yield.

4 ‘Orange Wellington’: F1 hybrid. Smooth,

orange-gold fruit that average 273g. Prone to catfacing, but not too deeply into the flesh. Pleasing flavour and

good yield.

round cultivars trialled in 2013. Because of their size, beefsteak

tomatoes occupy their own kitchen niche. They are ideal for slicing horizontally not vertically, and eating fresh with a knife and fork; a single slice is big enough to fill a sandwich (and won’t fall out of the sides like slices of smaller fruit). They are also great for frying, like the ‘steaks’ for which they are named, and serving with a full English breakfast, or top slices with mozzarella and basil for a classic Mediterranean entrée.

Growing beefsteaks Historically, beefsteak tomatoes have not been as popular as cherry and classic round types. A notable exception is ‘Marmande’, a French cultivar that has been around for a while and seems to have its own steady following. Attitudes,

A view of the 2014 trial (left), held in a polytunnel at RHS Garden Wisley, Surrey.

The vivid, ribbed fruit of ‘Costoluto Fiorentino’ (above right), an Italian cultivar with relatively small fruit that is said to grow well in the UK.

‘Orange Wellington’ (right) was the only golden-fruited cultivar to gain an agm in this trial.

7 ‘Brandy Boy’: F1 hybrid cultivar,

an improved version of well-known

‘Brandywine’. Large, irregular fruit average 347g; light refreshing

taste; good yield.

5 ‘Beefmaster’: F1 hybrid, producing large, deeply ribbed

fruit that average 587g; smooth taste;

good yield. Meaty fruit said to be tolerant

of cracking.

8 ‘Supersteak’: F1 hybrid, producing smooth, good-sized

fruit that average 564g; good taste and yield. Bred in

the USA and introduced in 1980.

Beefsteak tomatoes

The RHS trialled beefsteak tomatoes in 2003 and 2014. Assessment criteria included taste, yield, appearance and resistance to pests and diseases.

The 2003 trial included 39 cultivars, 40 percent F1 hybrids and 60 percent open-pollinated.

In the 2014 trial, 33 cultivars were assessed and the proportion of F1 hybrids and open-pollinated was reversed. Four plants of each entry

were grown in peat-free growing bags in a polytunnel. All were ‘stopped’ at six trusses; three of the four plants were truss-pruned (see p70) to leave three fruit per truss; the fourth plant of each entry was left to develop naturally. Average weights are for truss-pruned plants.

From both trials, the following 11 beefsteak tomatoes hold the RHS Award of Garden Merit (agm), and a further three will have agms subject to availability. Boxed numbers refer to suppliers, p70.

Other agm cultivars (not shown below)9 ‘Bountiful’: F1 hybrid. Heavy fruit averaged 378g; some cracking of

skin at the crown. Light taste; good yield. agm subject to availability.10 ‘Canestrino di Lucca’ (not trialled 2014): open-pollinated.

Red, boxy fruit averaged 113g in the trial (low for a beefsteak). Good colour and flavour, ideal for stuffing.

11 ‘Costoluto Fiorentino’ (2003 and 2014): open-pollinated. Fruit in both trials averaged 125g (low for beefsteak). Bright red, succulent, with a fruity flavour.

12 ‘Gigantomo’: F1 hybrid. Irregularly shaped fruit averaged 476g; light but pleasant flavour; good yield.

13 ‘Legend’ (2003 and 2014): open-pollinated. Determinate (bush-type) plants, bright red fruit averaged 230g in both trials. Claimed to be blight resistant.

14 ‘Marmande’ (2003 and 2014): open-pollinated. Bright red fruit, average 255g over both trials, solid flesh and good flavour.

✤ For trial reports, search ‘Tomato beefsteak’ at the RHS Plant Trials database: www.rhs.org.uk/plant-trial-database

Cultivars with the RHS Award of Garden Merit (agm): all indeterminate (vine or cordon) growth habit except ‘Legend’

July 2015 | The Garden 6968 The Garden | July 2015

6 ‘Oxheart sel Riviera’: open-pollinated

cultivar. Normally pear-shaped fruit, average

305g; soft texture and mild flavour;

good yield. agm subject to availability.

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however, have gradually changed, and seed catalogues now offer an attention-grabbing selection of beefsteaks that represents their diversity of shapes, sizes and colours. This change has been due in some part to the interest generated by heirloom or heritage cultivars such as ‘Brandywine’, although modern open-pollinated and F1 hybrid selections originating in the USA and continental Europe are also being given catalogue space.

Beefsteak tomatoes have an RHS hardiness rating of H1c (5–10�c / 41–50�f). For the best results, they should be grown under cover in glasshouses or polytunnels, in which harvests will be earlier, yields will be bigger and late blight disease will be less of a problem. An early start is key to success: sow seeds in early to mid-spring, then transplant to a tunnel or greenhouse from mid-April to the beginning of June. The earliest cultivars begin cropping from the middle to the end of July, and continue into autumn.

If you can grow other types of tomatoes, then you will have no problem with beefsteak cultivars – the cultural requirements are the same. The only exception is truss-pruning (see box, below), which is the practice of reducing the number of fruit on a truss so that those remaining will reach their full potential and grow to a larger size (the same principle as when thinning apples or pears).

Truss-pruning tomatoesBecause the fruit of beefsteak tomatoes can grow to such a huge size, they compete with each other for resources from the plant. Left to grow naturally, the trusses will produce a larger number of smaller fruit that have not attained their full potential. For a smaller number of larger fruit, the situation is easily remedied: prune each truss by leaving the first three flowers that set fruit and cutting off the others to prevent their development.

Diligence is important with truss-pruning, though the job can be co-ordinated with other chores such as pinching out. The stems of the trusses can be quite tough, so do not prune with your fingers. Instead, use a pair of secateurs, being careful to make a clean cut.

For gardeners without a tunnel or greenhouse, growing plants outdoors is another option – start seedlings under cover from the end of March to the end of April, transplanting them to the garden from the end of May to June. This is risky even in southern England and, even there, success is more likely in low-altitudes sites that are level, south-facing, protected from the wind and free from late frosts. Late blight will almost certainly appear and, as no fungicides used to control it are available to home gardeners, the use of resistant cultivars has become important. ‘Legend’, a determinate-growing (bush) type beefsteak from the USA, may be resistant and so might succeed when others would fail.

Beefsteak tomatoes have yet to

An unthinned truss of ‘Gigantomo’, its fruit competing for nutrients.

One of several purple or ‘black’ beefsteak cultivars, ‘Indigo Blue Beauty’ (above) ripens to purplish red, and is said to be high in antioxidants. Entered into the 2014 trial, but did not gain an agm.

70 The Garden | July 2015

SUppLIERS Seed (and/or plants) of numbered cultivars on pp68–69 are available from:

Seeds of Distinction 4, 7, 8, 13 01449 721720; www.seedsofdistinction.co.ukSimply Seeds 5, 7, 8 www.simplyseed.co.ukThompson & Morgan 3, 12 (+plants) 0844 573 1818; www.thompson-morgan.comNicky’s Nursery 1, 4 01843 600972; www.nickys-nursery.co.ukSeeds of Italy 11, 14 www.seedsofitaly.comKings Seeds 5, 14 01376 570000; www.kingsseeds.comReal Seeds 13 www.realseeds.co.ukTomato Plants Direct 5, 10, 11, 13 (plants only) www.tomato-plants-direct.co.ukUnwins 14 0844 573 8400; www.unwins.co.ukVan Meuwen 12 (+ plants) 0844 557 1850; www.vanmeuwen.com

RHS vegetable expert Mario De Pace describes his favourite beefsteak tomatoes and dishes at: www.rhs.org.uk/beefsteaks✤ Find links on that page to more on tomato cultivation, recipes and trials.✤ Search ‘Understanding F1 hybrids’ at the RHS website for explanations of ‘F1’ and ‘open-pollinated’.

www.rhs.org.uk

Beefsteak tomatoes

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become as popular as smaller-fruited cultivars, but the recent introduction of several new F1 hybrids suggests there is a growing market for their ample charms (they can make a meal in themselves after all). Though readily available from supermarkets and greengrocers, they are a crop best grown and enjoyed at home. Give in to temptation and try growing a tomato behemoth – you may be surprised at its versatility in the kitchen.