TOW-GOLDMAN'S ITALIAN AMERICAN 3-25-11

[darthslater]

This weeks pick is Goldman's Italian American, a very large tomato with great flavor.
This is a red that can get over 2 pounds and makes very good sauce, this one is relativley new for me and it doesn't seem to have one perticular size, its all over the place some large some small.
Again, this one is great for sauce.
Not bad for fresh eating also, just not overly juicy.

Plants be obtained at another couple guys from our forums farm
Randell and johno
Abundantacres.net
If they don't have these, you can also look
At Selected plants.com
Or Knapp's fresh Veggies.
For any of these "Hard" to find tomatoes, I would suggest these sites first.

[bammer]

Is this another tomato named after her that runs SSE? HaHaHa

[darthslater]

I would have loved to know the REAL name of it!!

[soren]

Mar 25, 2011 17:44:49 GMT -5 @darthslater said:

I would have loved to know the REAL name of it!!

Coeur de Boeuf is a common market tomato in France, Spain and Italy.
The similarities are striking....

[darthslater]

Thank you Soren, In your opinion is this what it is?

[littleminnie]

I am growing this for the first time this year. I think it should be popular. What people like are large pastes so it takes less work to peel them. I grew principes in 2009 and thought they could be used for sauce too but they are too tiny for anything but drying.
I am pretty excited about the Goldman's!

[soren]

Mar 25, 2011 18:28:27 GMT -5 @darthslater said:

Thank you Soren, In your opinion is this what it is?

It's just guesswork of course, but "it was originally found at a Roadside stand in Italy by Amy Goldman".

Yes, I think it is Coeur de Boeuf - or a similar variety. But there is no way to prove it.

I think it is somewhat problematic that people always assume that they have found some unique, lost heirloom when they visit markets in other countries.
That would be like visiting a Amish farmer and assuming that everything he grows are Amish heirlooms ;D



I have seeds from some Coeur de Boeuf's I bought at a market in Paris. I have uploaded a picture of them at Tatiana's site:

t.tatianastomatobase.com:88/wiki/File:Coeur_de_Boeuf_2.jpg

If you want to try some for comparison (and still have time to sow), just send me a PM

(not a general offer, sorry)

[fortyonenorth]

However you feel about Amy Goldman, she obviously knows her tomatoes. The tomato that she "originally found at a Roadside stand in Italy" did not look like cour de bouef - it looked like a costoluto. She saved seeds and eventually got the tomato she named Goldman's Italian American. She has grown several hundreds of different tomato varieties and she felt this one was unique.

[fortyonenorth]

I think that's a great idea - and I'll look forward to what you come up with. The piriform shape seems to be common in some parts of Italy and I am aware of three or four varieties that look like GIA. I have one from Johnny's called "Red Pear Piriform" that is supposed to be excellent, though I haven't grown it yet.

[soren]

did not look like cour de bouef - it looked like a costoluto

How do you know that?

I don't know much about Amy Goldman, and I don't have a opinion about her. I am just stating that there are several piriform cultivars that looks similar or even identical to Goldman's Italian American.
I participated in a discussion about GIA on another forum, and I remember that others were skeptical about the history of this variety.
Carolyn actually wrote this: "No, I don't think Amy stabilized this variety."


I hope Darth will be able to tell us more at the end of the season

[fortyonenorth]

From AG's "The Heirloom Tomato":

"Seed saved from a Costoluto Genovese look-alike found by me at a roadside grocery stores ear the Villa d'Este in Cernobbio, Italy..." Also: "similar to Franchi's Red Pear; Bransasso; Giant Pear Piriform; and Piriform"

The book doesn't say anything about dehybridizing, but I do see that aspect mentioned in her SSE listing.

Rich

Mar 27, 2011 12:39:23 GMT -5 @soren said:

did not look like cour de bouef - it looked like a costoluto

How do you know that?

I don't know much about Amy Goldman, and I don't have a opinion about her. I am just stating that there are several piriform cultivars that looks similar or even identical to Goldman's Italian American.
I participated in a discussion about GIA on another forum, and I remember that others were skeptical about the history of this variety.
Carolyn actually wrote this: "No, I don't think Amy stabilized this variety."


I hope Darth will be able to tell us more at the end of the season

[soren]

I thought it might be something from her book (I don't have it myself). Thanks for posting it.

I think the fruits of Coeur de Boeuf from the same plant can vary quite a bit in shape, some of them have the typical piriform shape while others are more flat. Maybe those flatter ones could be mistaken for a Costoluto?
This could explain the dehybridizing part, maybe she just bought a oddly flat shaped Coeur de Boeuf?

[hillbillypie]

Mar 26, 2011 6:42:52 GMT -5 @soren said:

I think it is somewhat problematic that people always assume that they have found some unique, lost heirloom when they visit markets in other countries.
That would be like visiting a Amish farmer and assuming that everything he grows are Amish heirlooms ;D

I think there are lots of people that see "finding" a tomato as their chance at some kind of fame(or maintaining it?). I am still scratching my head as to why some people are allowed to do this and others are not. Either you care or you don't care. It should not depend on the person.

...I'm beginning to sound like Yoda...

[sorellina]

Ciao all-

I got Amy Goldman's tomato book last year while in Buffalo for Remy's tomato-tasting party. Books are still more expensive up here despite our dollar being at parity for quite some time..political silliness. I liked the look of the tomato so I put it on my wish list and received it in trade over the winter. Political whatever aside which I really don't care much for anyway, I've grown it this year and I love it. It's precisely the kind of large red paste tomato I really go for. The plant is very healthy and quite prolific. I used several of them this weekend in my canning efforts. The flesh is quite dense and the seed cavities are on the small side, not as small as Opalka, but it's hard to find a stingier tomato. I haven't tasted them on their own, but in terms of a very good cooking/canning tomato, I'd grow it again in a second.