Wondering exactly what the Great White tomato is? Well, besides being an exquisite taste experience, it’s what it sounds like: A large, creamy white heirloom tomato that’s prized for both its gorgeous color and flavor. Great White tomato plants produce a harvest of white globes that can reach up to two pounds, with an average of about a pound each. The overall consensus of backyard growers? This one is a keeper!
The Great White Tomato: An Heirloom With a Bit of Mystery
While we know that it’s an heirloom variety, we could find no information on the approximate date it was first introduced. Which leads us to believe that it is a very old variety. And the customer reviews of this unusually-colored tomato have us agreeing that it is definitely worth growing.
The Great White is a beefsteak type that is super meaty, while being incredibly juicy at the same time. Gardeners tell of it having only small pockets of seeds close to the outside, while the interior is almost completely solid with sweet, juicy meat. The flavor is most un-tomato-ish. Of course, anyone in-the-know knows that tomatoes are considered a fruit. But most tomatoes don’t taste like any type of fruit that is common today.
Tastes Like Fruit!
The Great White tomato is a tomato with a fruity taste. It’s described as sweet, juicy, and kind of citrusy. One producer describes the flavor as reminiscent of fresh cut pineapple, melon and guava, all at one time.
Growers of the Great White tomato tell of the many compliments they receive, once people get past the unusual color. You may have to blindfold someone to get them to take the first bite! But once they do, they will most likely be at least willing to admit that they are sweet and tasty. And most will want plants for their own gardens!
Great for Creating Beautiful Dishes
The Great White tomato’s size makes it good for slicing and the color makes it an interesting addition to a sliced tomato plate. Use them on a blue plate, alternated with slices of a red beefsteak for the 4th of July picnic. Or cut in tiny pieces in a baby spinach salad, served with a raspberry vinaigrette dressing. A couple of customers have actually made them into marinara sauce!
The Great White Tomato: How to Grow
As far as growing them, you can treat them like any other tomato: The same tips for growing great tomatoes apply. The Great White tomato is an indeterminate variety. This means it will produce fruit all season long. You’ll need to provide supports for these plants due to the weight of the fruit. Not to mention the heights they will achieve, (topping three or four feet.) They are also quite leafy, which is a good thing, as the dense foliage protects the white flesh from getting sun-scorched. In fact, the Great White tomato has a better tolerance to heat than many other varieties and definitely much better than most whites, with very little cracking or splitting, if any.
A Tale of Two Growers
One grower commented that he was in a competition with his wife and babied his in 18-gallon pots, with a combination of planting mix and manure. He carefully built an arrangement of laths and cords to support them, only to have just one of his ten plants produce fruit. While on the other side of the yard, his wife planted her tomatoes in partial shade, right in the ground, with no fertilizer and right next to the pumps for their saltwater swimming pool. She managed to get about 60 pounds of tomatoes off of just three plants.
That being said, we can conclude that the Great White tomato plant does not need to be babied and is not at all fragile, regardless of its color, which might lead you to believe otherwise.
So try the Great White tomato this summer! We can almost guarantee you will enjoy the flavor, even if you are not already a tomato lover.
Happy growing!
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