Quote:
Originally Posted by nctomatoman
Great question, Dan, and I promise I won't start it with the phrase "it depends"! (though of course it does).
let's look at some examples from our early work.
Sneezy - Green Giant X Golden Dwarf Champion. Superb flavor X very good flavor. The F1 was excellent. The F2s ranged from very good to superb. Flavor was consistent from the start from the vast majority of the selections.
Sleepy - Stump of the World X Budai. Superb flavor X so so flavor. The F1 was so-so. The selections were all over the map. Rosella Purple (delicious) came out of Rosella Purple (pretty good) at around the 4th generation and stayed that way. Rosella Crimson (which can vary widely) to me still varies - we are out at the 8-10th generation and beyond.
Witty - Cherokee Green X Budai - Superb flavor X so-so flavor. The f1 was good to so-so. The selections are to me good but not great, the best being Sean's Yellow Dwarf, consistent right from the start - F3 or F4 - yet Kangaroo Paw Red not only varies in color, but flavor, out to the F8.
One additional comment - using sugar content (brix) as a marker for flavor may be risky, because tomato flavor is so complex and I suspect composed of many many trace elements - and, as you note with yourself, there is wide variation in how each of us perceive taste.
The answer perhaps? Use a small group of people to evaluate flavor from single plant selections during the season.
As we've discussed, I think that indeterminate vs dwarf genetics are so much simpler than the micro situation - as you are seeing complexity in plant habit, it is likely there is going to be complexity in inheritable flavors as well.
Just my two cents!
|
Thanks for the insight, Craig.
I agree with the cautionary comment about Brix measurements. I just started using it again. I quit using it a while ago for the reason you caution about. There definitely is more to tomato flavor than sugar. The fruit with the Brix of 10+ didn't have any more flavor than the ones with the Brix of 4 (perhaps less), but it was very different and 'sweeter' goes a long way toward describing that difference. The 7 Brix tasted more like a 'real' tomato than the sweet one.
On the flip side, sugar content is an important part of flavor. There was a huge difference in 'sweetness' between the two, which was reflected in the Brix reading. I use it as a crutch because I really don't have a very good sense of taste. Sinus surgery years ago took nearly all of my sense of smell and a lot of my taste. I miss the subtle differences between flavors. I read people talking about 'smokey' and other flavor nuances and just scratch my head.
I'm also hampered by not having a 'season' with everything ripening simultaneously - but that is a self-created problem. I have some at every stage of growth - seedlings - potted up - growing - maturing at all times. This month one group ripens. Next month another one does. I have a hard enough time comparing two tasted one after another. Trying to compare one to the one I ate last month is something else altogether. But that's my problem.
I am going to play with the refractometer for a while and see how the sugar level tracks from generation to generation. Maybe I'll learn something. If I do, I'll share.