CHOPTAG tasting
 

I'm recovered and ready to talk about the tomato tasting held Saturday, Aug 27. Sorry to report that attendance was way down from years past. I think we ended up with 12 people or so.

Even with attendance down, we sure had some delicious tomatoes to be tasted :) I think we had about 25 or 26 varieties Some that really stood out taste wise were German Johnson, a cross that that Mark brought..I can't remember the name of to save me.. and Japanese Black Trifele. Oh and I can't forget Blush! Super sweet fruity tasting tomato. I brought several varieties..some of which I had not tasted yet. Amish Potato Leaf from Carolyn I enjoyed, and the Brandywine Sudduth was wonderful as usual. Heather brought some Stupice and I had never tasted that tomato. I liked it!

I brought some Dwarf Sweet Scarlett to sample and everyone attending seemed to give it 2 thumbs up. Had a couple of new to heirloom folks attending and they were in awe of how different tasting the tomatoes were. We also had delicious golden watermelon to sample and peppers and okra to pass around. Lots of good eats and good conversations..the weather was fantastic. About as perfect a day for eating tomatoes as you can get!

We discussed ways to draw new members to the group and ways to get our former members active again. I forgot my camera again, so no photos.. dangit!

That's all I can think of to report for now. Hopefully some of the others will chime in :)

Thanks for the report Barbee, and glad they liked Dwarf Sweet Scarlet. :cute:

Patrina

Was definitely good to meet everyone and taste a lot of varieties that I hadn't before and you couldn't have asked for a better day weather-wise. I've definitely found that I do enjoy the black varieties the most it seems, the Japanese Black Trifele and Black Krim were two of my favorites from yesterday. I will definitely be growing some dwarf varieties next year, the Sweet Scarlett was tasty and the size of those plants would be perfect for the space that I have.

Jerry: what was the name of that little red pepper you brought(the only one in the bags that had a name not a number). I forgot to write it down when I grabbed some seeds.

I know we had discussed getting a group started on Facebook to help draw in new people. I found that to start the group on there, I have to add at least one member besides myself to start it. So feel free to send me a link to profiles and I'll get that started or alternately I can just create it as a page that people can 'like' instead.

Thanks everyone for sharing the delicious tomatoes and food.

Hey Beat - glad you could make it.

[COLOR=black][FONT=Arial]I got the pepper from someone at the spring plant swap. But for the life of me I can’t remember who. The tag says Pepperoncini Calabrese. [/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=black][FONT=Arial]A description from ehow.com. [/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=black][FONT=Arial]Originating from Calabria, Italy, the calabrese pepper is a spicy, sweet delicacy. Planted in a warm, sunny location, the compact plants will produce an abundance of petite, round peppers that turn dark red when fully developed. Fried, pickled, fresh or dried, the calabrese is an ideal accompaniment to authentic Italian dishes. Though delicious, the calabrese is not commonly found in American gardens, meaning transplants may be difficult to come by. To try your hand at growing this piquant pepper, you'll probably have to start from seed.[/FONT][/COLOR]

That pepper came from me Jerry. the end result of a two year search for seeds, did you like it? Any photos of ripe fruit?

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Although they were supposed to be pointed not round like e how description

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I don't think anyone took pictures at the tasting but they were pointed red peppers definitely.

I guess we made do with the folks that were there...a little sparse on members but plenty of interesting tomatoes...here's hoping we can kick it up a notch and have a tasting like years gone by next year...I made a nice batch of salsa at home saturday with Barbee's leftovers....

Lurley,

you're right they are pointed. I have not tasted them but others say they a good and hot.

The plant is in a 1 gal. pot.

Glad to hear the leftovers were used! I might have gotten the stink eye if I'd have tried to bring any tomatoes home ;)

Jerry,
Thanks for the photos! There are two other Calabrian hot peppers that I know of, one is round and the other is pointed but about 3-4 inches long. I have the long pointed one also, but wanted the shorter (little devil) variety. Took me what seemed like forever to find seeds for it. If anyone wanted some seeds of it but didn't get any, send me a PM as I still have plenty from the original package. The garden was heavy on Italian veggies this year as I had just finished reading two Italian cookbooks when the seed catalogs started arriving:lol:

Barbee,

Was it you that brought Big Beef the the Taste Fest? If so, was it the hybrid or the Ibsen's "de-hybridized version of an American favorite"? ;)

Not me Jerry. I think that was Mark.

man I really wish I would have been able to go to this...being from southern Ohio, I feel I screwed up by not getting involved with this...next year I should be all in....let me ask a question if I may?

Is this mainly just a bunch of people who grow for themselves and their family or is most of y'all growing for production to sell? not that it matters but I was just wondering. is this a family event or is like a event for business? again, not that it matters, just wondering...My family and I strictly grow to give our fruit and veggies to neighbors and family and we love the idea of growing our own food....we love the idea of meeting people who also like the self sustainable living ideas and trying to live off what we can grow...

[COLOR=black][FONT=Verdana]Hey Lid,[/FONT][/COLOR]
[COLOR=black][FONT=Verdana] [/FONT][/COLOR]
[COLOR=black][FONT=Verdana]This is strictly a family affair. There are a few folks that have growing related businesses but that is just a coincidence. No one sells anything at our gatherings. We just share our seedling in the spring and our harvest in the fall.[/FONT][/COLOR]