Some tomatoes taste sweeter than others. Tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum L.) are warm-season crops grown for their flavorful fruit, and certain cultivars pack more sugar into their flesh than typical grocery store varieties. If you want that candy-like, old-fashioned tomato taste in your garden, plant sweet-tasting cultivars bred for sugar content.
A tomato’s sweetness depends partly on genetics and partly on growing conditions. Full sun, warm weather, and proper nutrients all help, but the cultivar determines the upper limit of sugar. Below are 37 sweet tomatoes to grow or seek out at farmers markets this season.
‘Mortgage Lifter’ tomato
The ‘Mortgage Lifter’ is a large red-pink beefsteak heirloom with rich, sweet flavor. This meaty slicer holds up well on sandwiches and slices cleanly. Fruits weigh 1 to 2 pounds each and grow on long indeterminate vines. M.C. “Radiator Charlie” Byles bred this open-pollinated variety in West Virginia.
‘Sungold’ tomato
The ‘Sungold’ is a small orange cherry tomato with intense, syrupy sweetness when fully ripe. These fruits taste tart when underripe but turn candy-sweet on the vine. Cherry tomatoes concentrate sugar in their small berry-like fruit, and ‘Sungold’ delivers that concentration in spades. Fruits grow in clusters on indeterminate vines and ripen to about an inch wide. This Japanese hybrid from Tokita Seed Company won the RHS Award of Garden Merit in 2007 and appears on many best-tasting tomato lists.
‘Black Cherry’ tomato
The ‘Black Cherry’ is a small purple-brown cherry tomato with complex, sweet flavor. These juicy tomatoes grow in clusters on vigorous indeterminate vines and ripen to about an inch wide. The firm peel pops in your mouth. Vince Sapp of Tomato Growers Supply Company in Florida bred this open-pollinated variety.
‘Pineapple’ tomato
The ‘Pineapple’ is a large yellow-and-red beefsteak heirloom with sweet, fresh, fruity taste. These hefty fruits show vertical red blush stripes on a yellow background, making them attractive bicolor tomatoes. Plants grow long indeterminate vines and need staking. This open-pollinated heirloom possibly originated in Kentucky.
‘Juliet’ tomato
The ‘Juliet’ is a small red elongated cherry tomato with sweet flavor and crack-resistant skin. These one-ounce grape-shaped fruits grow in clusters on long indeterminate vines. This Taiwanese hybrid from Known-You Seed Company was named an All-America Selections Winner in 1999.
‘Brandywine’ tomato
The ‘Brandywine’ is a large heirloom famous for balanced sweet-tart taste that turns almost candy-sweet when fruits ripen fully on the vine. Some years these tomatoes taste a bit tart, but when conditions align, they deliver almost magical sweetness. This pink beefsteak grows on indeterminate vines.
‘Sweet 100’ tomato
The ‘Sweet 100’ is a small red round cherry tomato with balanced sweet taste. These tiny fruits grow in clusters on long indeterminate vines and ripen to between a half-inch and one inch wide. Northrup-King Seed Company in Minnesota bred this F1 hybrid.
‘Sweet Million’ tomato
The ‘Sweet Million’ is a small red cherry tomato with very sweet taste. This improved ‘Sweet 100’ grows one-inch fruits on easy-to-grow indeterminate vines. The variety won the RHS Award of Garden Merit in 1998.
‘Brad’s Atomic Grape’ tomato
The ‘Brad’s Atomic Grape’ is a small multicolored elongated cherry tomato with impressive sweetness. The peel shows purple and brown stripes over red and green background colors. These crack-resistant fruits grow in clusters along long indeterminate vines. Bradley Gates of Wild Boar Farms in California bred this open-pollinated variety.
‘Sun Sugar’ tomato
The ‘Sun Sugar’ is a small orange round cherry tomato with bright, sweet taste. These cheerful fruits grow on hardy, productive plants with indeterminate vines. This hybrid makes a good substitute for ‘Sungold’. Gardeners often debate whether ‘Sun Sugar’ or ‘Sungold’ tastes sweeter. Both deliver excellent sweetness.
‘Arkansas Traveler’ tomato
The ‘Arkansas Traveler’ is a medium-sized pink round globe tomato with sweet flavor. These reliable, crack-resistant fruits grow on long indeterminate vines. Joe McFerran of the University of Arkansas Horticulture Department bred this open-pollinated variety.
‘Black Prince’ tomato
The ‘Black Prince’ is a medium-sized brown round globe tomato with complex sweet flavor. These rich, juicy fruits grow on long indeterminate plants. This open-pollinated Russian heirloom was developed in Irkutsk.
‘Ponderosa’ tomato
The ‘Ponderosa’ is a large pink beefsteak heirloom known for classic old-fashioned sweetness. These tomatoes have a flattened oblate shape and ripen late in the season. Plants grow indeterminate vines.
‘German Johnson’ tomato
The ‘German Johnson’ is a large pink beefsteak heirloom with subtle yet sweet taste. This giant slicer grows on long, vigorous indeterminate vines. This tomato was one of the parent varieties of the popular ‘Mortgage Lifter’. This open-pollinated heirloom came from Germany.
‘German Queen’ tomato
The ‘German Queen’ is a large pink beefsteak German heirloom with old-fashioned sweet taste. These flattened oblate tomatoes can grow to 1 to 2 pounds each. These potato-leaved plants make a good substitute for ‘Brandywine’ in the garden and may be a bit sweeter.
‘Blush’ tomato
The ‘Blush’ is a small yellow-and-red elongated cherry tomato with fruity, sweet taste. These bright yellow fruits with soft pink blush grow in clusters on long indeterminate vines. Fred Hempel of Artisan Seeds in California bred this open-pollinated variety.
‘Sakura’ tomato
The ‘Sakura’ is a small red cherry tomato with exceptionally sweet taste. These one-inch fruits grow in clusters of 16 to 20 tomatoes. The hardy indeterminate plants show excellent tolerance to temperature swings. This F1 hybrid won the RHS Award of Garden Merit in 2007.
‘Tommy Toe’ tomato
The ‘Tommy Toe’ is a small red cherry tomato with old-fashioned sweet-yet-balanced taste. These tiny fruits grow in bountiful clusters on long indeterminate vines. This open-pollinated heirloom possibly developed in the Ozark Mountains.
‘German Pink’ tomato
The ‘German Pink’ is a large pink beefsteak German heirloom with full, sweet taste. These big flattened tomatoes grow on long indeterminate vines. This open-pollinated variety came from Bavaria.
‘Isis Candy’ tomato
The ‘Isis Candy’ is a small red-and-yellow cherry tomato with sweet, fruity taste. The peel is often multicolored, with some green and perhaps some pink blush. Fruits grow to about an inch wide in clusters on long indeterminate vines. Joe Bratka of New Jersey bred this open-pollinated heirloom.
‘Pink Ping Pong’ tomato
The ‘Pink Ping Pong’ is a small pink cherry tomato with juicy, sweet taste. These cheerful tomatoes grow in clusters on somewhat bushy yet still indeterminate vining plants. Fruits really are about the size of a ping-pong ball. This open-pollinated variety came from New York.
‘Caspian Pink’ tomato
The ‘Caspian Pink’ is a large pink beefsteak heirloom with old-fashioned, balanced sweet taste. These oblate-shaped fruits ripen before some of the really giant beefsteaks but grow on similarly large indeterminate vining plants. This open-pollinated heirloom is thought to originate from the region between the northern Caspian Sea and the Black Sea.
‘Crokini’ tomato
The ‘Crokini’ is a small red cherry tomato with balanced sweet taste and crunchy texture. These crack-resistant bite-sized fruits pop in your mouth with a burst of sweetness. The indeterminate plants are somewhat compact and very productive, often producing hundreds of fruits per plant. This F1 hybrid bred in Provence, France, was named an All-America Selections Winner in 2020.
‘Eva Purple Ball’ tomato
The ‘Eva Purple Ball’ is a medium-sized pink round globe tomato with old-fashioned sweet taste. These tomatoes grow on long indeterminate vines. This is an open-pollinated variety.
‘Anna Russian’ tomato
The ‘Anna Russian’ is a medium-sized pink oxheart heirloom with full-bodied sweet taste. These heart-shaped fruits grow on long indeterminate tomato vines. This is an open-pollinated heirloom.
‘Porter’ tomato
The ‘Porter’ is a small pink globe heirloom with sweet flavor. The fruits are slightly egg-shaped and known to grow well in hot climates on indeterminate plants. This open-pollinated heirloom came from Texas.
‘Jet Star’ tomato
The ‘Jet Star’ is a medium-sized red standard globe modern hybrid with high sugar content. This variety grows on disease-resistant plants and produces crack-resistant fruits. Gardeners love this sweet tomato variety for its reliability. Harris Seeds developed ‘Jet Star’ in the late 1960s.
‘Kosovo’ tomato
The ‘Kosovo’ is a large pink oxheart heirloom with old-fashioned rich sweetness. The fruits are meaty but often juicier than beefsteak types. Plants are indeterminate and need support or staking. This open-pollinated heirloom came from Kosovo in Southeastern Europe.
‘Golden Sweet’ tomato
The ‘Golden Sweet’ is a small yellow-orange elongated cherry tomato with mild sweet flavor. These bright oblong fruits grow on long indeterminate vining plants. This is an F1 hybrid.
‘Coyote’ tomato
The ‘Coyote’ is a tiny yellow-white cherry heirloom known for its sweet taste and early ripening. These small fruits grow in clusters on long indeterminate vines. This is an open-pollinated heirloom.
‘Riesentraube’ tomato
The ‘Riesentraube’ is a small red cherry heirloom known for its rich, sweet flavor. These little tomatoes grow on long indeterminate vines and ripen mid-season after some smaller cherries start to ripen. This is an open-pollinated heirloom.
‘Early Girl’ tomato
The ‘Early Girl’ is a classic hybrid known for developing old-fashioned tomato sweetness in climates with a short growing season. Some of the larger sweet tomatoes don’t have time to mature in areas with cool spring and fall temperatures, but these early fruits mean gardeners in cold climates can still grow great slicer tomatoes.
‘Galina’ tomato
The ‘Galina’ is a small yellow cherry heirloom with sweet flavor. This early-fruiting plant bears its tomatoes on long indeterminate vines. This is an open-pollinated heirloom.
‘Anna Banana Russian’ tomato
The ‘Anna Banana Russian’ is a medium-sized yellow oxheart tomato with sweet taste. This tomato was bred as a yellow version of the famous ‘Anna Russian’ heirloom described above. ‘Anna Banana’ also fruits on long indeterminate vines and ripens mid-season. This is an open-pollinated variety.
‘Floridity’ tomato
The ‘Floridity’ is a small red elongated cherry tomato with excellent sweet flavor. These indeterminate vining plants produce long clusters of fruits
Leave a Reply