Retro tomatoes: Older varieties are back in favor in the specialty produce world

Issue Date: September 20, 2006

By Jim Morris

With their full-bodied flavor, varied appearance and whimsical names, heirloom tomatoes bring joy to farmer Jim Durst and his growing customer base.

Since leg warmers and Rubik's cubes have made a comeback, perhaps it's not surprising that old is new once again in the specialty produce world, too.

Heirloom tomatoes--older varieties that fell out of favor commercially--are becoming a more commonplace item on menus and in supermarket produce aisles in California. This unusual produce is even celebrated at high-profile food festivals in Carmel and Santa Rosa.

Consumer interest in heirlooms is based on several factors, most notably their true tomato taste.

"Heirloom tomatoes are to Northern California what goat cheese is to the Loire Valley of France," said Kurt Spataro, executive chef/partner of Paragary's Restaurant Group in Sacramento. "The bottom line is they are incredibly delicious, beautiful to look at and they don't grow better anywhere else on the planet. Of all of the agricultural crops that we grow in California, tomatoes in the Sacramento Valley have to be at the very top of the list."

Those who grow the tomatoes are equally appreciative of their unique attributes.

"They are a feast for the eyes and the palate," said Jim Durst, who, along with his wife, Deborah, grows 30 acres of heirloom tomatoes in Esparto, Yolo County.

Durst planted his first heirloom tomato plants nearly 20 years ago, in his search for high-quality, larger-sized tomatoes that he could sell to specialty markets.

Today he grows nine heirloom varieties, and at about 9 tons to the acre, his annual production tips the scales at more than a half million pounds. His produce is shipped to wholesalers, where it's distributed across the country, including to Whole Foods, Nugget Markets and Raley's supermarket companies.

He said this season's prices are average to above average, which helps make up for the vast amount of time and labor it takes to produce them. Cull rates can reach as high as 20 percent, so the Dursts invest significant time and resources on proper plant nutrition and pest management.

Durst is quick to point out that in the world of heirloom tomatoes, quantity takes a back seat to quality.

"Tomatoes bring out the fullness of nature's beauty," he said. "To look at them on the vine, watch them mature and see them come to full color, you are following a journey of nature. Finally, when you eat that tomato, it becomes a part of you and sustains you."

While heirloom tomatoes are a seasonal staple for chefs and will get the occasional spotlight in the supermarket produce ads, they represent just a small slice of the overall tomato market. California is the nation's top tomato source, supplying more than 12 million tons of fresh and processing tomatoes annually.

A U.S. Department of Agriculture statistician in Washington, D.C. said they not only don't track this commodity, she had never heard of heirloom tomatoes before.

More California farmers are growing this produce, with the top production areas including Yolo and San Diego counties.

Black tomatoes are the forte of Dennis Stowell of Tom-King Farms in Ramona, San Diego County. He said the high levels of cancer-fighting lycopene found in the fruit convinced him to specialize in black-skinned varieties.

Stowell, whose full-time job is as a licensed landscape contractor, sells his produce at a health food store and farmers' markets. He said educating consumers is the key to robust sales.

"You have give out samples and it's nice to have articles right in front at the farmers' market, so people get background and history," he said. "Usually when they taste it, the older people who grew up on farms in the heartland remember that from their childhood. People who are educated and have a little more savvy about exotic fruit usually know about heirlooms. Once they try it, they're convinced."

Heirloom tomatoes were phased out of commercial use because they didn't have the shipping qualities necessary to trek long distances to the market. Connoisseurs say what they lack in virility they more than make up in taste and variety.

The most popular heirloom varieties include Brandywine, Purple Cherokee, Black Crimson and Marvel Stripe, though there are hundreds of different types that can be grown, including Green Zebra, Clint Eastwood's Rowdy Red, San Francisco Fog, Radiator Charlie's Mortgage Lifter and Pink Ping Pong. Shapes, sizes, colors and tastes cover a wide territory. The color range includes white, green, black, orange, yellow and striped.

The tomatoes can sell for up to $4 a pound at retail and may bring a higher return for farmers ever on the lookout for a niche.

"Farmers have a lot of fixed costs with land, machinery and other factors and labor and fuel costs are increasing," said University of California, Davis, Agricultural Economist Karen Klonsky. "What they can do about it is increase their income by growing higher value crops. Heirloom tomatoes are one of those."

Klonsky said heirloom tomatoes provide plenty of appeal to retailers and today's consumer.

"People are looking for different kinds of foods," she said. "These tomatoes look good in displays in stores. It makes the rest of the produce look better when there are more interesting, new items there."

(Jim Morris is a reporter for Ag Alert. He may be contacted at jmorris@cfbf.com.)

Permission for use is granted, however, credit must be made to the California Farm Bureau Federation when reprinting this item. Top