North Carolina Cooperative Extension would like to thank everyone who stopped by the Graham County Farmer’s Market this past Saturday and took part in our first-ever tomato taste test.

As many people already know, tomatoes are bred to display characteristics that are pleasing to the consumer.  Some are bred for appearance, others for taste, quality of shipping, conformity, etc.  Any way you look at it, all tomatoes are different!

In our taste test, eight tomato varieties, each with different characteristics, were made available.  These varieties were:  Mountain Rouge, Ruby Orr, Blue Beauty, Chef’s Choice Pink, Big Zack, Cherokee Purple, Better Boy and Big Beef.  Thirty people participated in this event and each participant was asked to taste a small piece of each variety and simply report which variety they liked the best.  The votes are in and here’s what Graham Countians preferred:

1. Mountain Rouge – this was the winner hands-down.  From the 30 participants, 11 (36.67%) chose this variety over all others.
2. Big Beef & Better Boy – these two varieties tied for a distant second. Each variety received only 4 (13.33%) votes each.
3. Ruby Orr, Cherokee Purple, & Chef’s Choice Pink – These three varieties each received a disappointing 3 (10%) votes each.
4. Blue Beauty & Big Zach – Despite their colorful appearance, these two varieties rounded out the bottom with 1 (3.33%) vote each.

Hopefully, folks learned a little bit about tomatoes and had a whole lot of fun!  If you would like to learn more about these or other varieties of tomatoes, please stop by the Extension office at 39 South Main Street or give us a call at (828) 479-7979.  We hope to hear from you soon

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