Mr. Stripey!

FINALLY! I’ve been eating some of my smaller black tomatoes through the season, but what I really crave are the huge heirloom types. They took their time this year ripening, but Mr. Stripey finally produced the first ripe enough tomato to pull off the vine and eat for dinner. I had a black prince this weekend too, but Mr. Stripey was feeling photogenic!

Stripey is a bi-color English heirloom variety that produces low acid fruit. Some say it’s a highly productive plant, I say it’s kind of a pain! The plant is over 9 feet tall (even with severe pruning at the beginning of the season) and 3 feet wide. I will probably get about 10-15 tomatoes if the weather stays warm and ripens what I have. If not, I think I’m going to have a fried green tomato sandwich party!

meet mr. stripey

It’s such a pretty fruit, it has green, yellow and pink streaks on the outside, but the flesh is yellow with a pink center. I love their mild flavor, low acidity, and meaty texture.

yellow fruit with pink centers

I remembered to snap a picture of it as a tomato and mozzarella salad (the small ones are a small plum black tomato grown in the garden as well). This was just before I added a little olive oil, salt, and pepper. I got too excited and forgot to take a picture before eating. Yum.

stripey, black plums and mozzarella