Brandywine vs Purple Cherokee tomato

[pepper2.0]

Last year I grew a bunch of Brandywine and Purple Cherokee tomato plants.. I forget exactly but about 20 of each. I've heard many people say Brandywine is the best and others say Purple Cherokee is, so I did a side by side taste test.

The Brandywine tomatoes are monsters, much larger than the Cherokee. They also started to ripen almost 2 weeks before the Cherokee. However flavor wise I found the Brandywine more mild in flavor and softer texture, so personally I prefer the Purple Cherokee but will grow both again this coming season.

Some of my garden yum with a venison I harvested.

 

[Meadowlark]

I also like the Purple Cherokee and grow a few every year for the flavor...20 of each? That's a bunch of tomatoes!!

That venison (backstrap?) looks delicious!!

 

[Chuck]

I have a hard time growing the Brandywine varieties. It seems that the climate here gets too hot too soon for extended fruit set and fruit growth. The CP's usually have a much larger first bloom set and set many more tomatoes than the Brandywine's. The Brandywines do get bigger but it is not unusual for a CP to be well over a pound which to me is a BIG tomato. I also prefer the taste of the CP over the Brandywine. The only con I have about the CP's is their shorter shelf life.

Excuse me while I pick the plastic out of my teeth. I just took a bite of my screen looking at that deermeat.

 

[pepper2.0]

I also like the Purple Cherokee and grow a few every year for the flavor...20 of each? That's a bunch of tomatoes!!

That venison (backstrap?) looks delicious!!

I always grow way too many lol. I give a lot away, make as much pasta sauce as I can but a lot still goes to the compost.

I think that's a shank steak. I usually have the heart, backstrap and tenderloin eaten within a week after the deer drops lol

 

[pepper2.0]

I have a hard time growing the Brandywine varieties. It seems that the climate here gets too hot too soon for extended fruit set and fruit growth. The CP's usually have a much larger first bloom set and set many more tomatoes than the Brandywine's. The Brandywines do get bigger but it is not unusual for a CP to be well over a pound which to me is a BIG tomato. I also prefer the taste of the CP over the Brandywine. The only con I have about the CP's is their shorter shelf life.

Excuse me while I pick the plastic out of my teeth. I just took a bite of my screen looking at that deermeat.

I would choose CP's too, hands down. Before that I always grew bush beefsteaks, so it was a bit of work setting up for climbers but worth it! I doubt I will grow a bush tomato again.

 

[Heirloom farmer1969]

I grow a few of each but taste-wise, I prefer the CP.
I also grow a few hybrids from burpee seeds called brandy boy. It's identical to Brandywine but a hybrid and it is delicious. One of the best-tasting tomatoes I grow. If you love the taste of heirloom and want the disease resistant of hybrid, then you'll need to try brandy boy.

 

[pepper2.0]

I grow a few of each but taste-wise, I prefer the CP.
I also grow a few hybrids from burpee seeds called brandy boy. It's identical to Brandywine but a hybrid and it is delicious. One of the best-tasting tomatoes I grow. If you love the taste of heirloom and want the disease resistant of hybrid, then you'll need to try brandy boy.

I usually get Burpee seeds too. I will keep an eye out for Brandy Boy and try them, I don't mind hybrids. I love a strong flavored tomato, lots of acidity. I've grown Better Boy tomatoes before, they are not bad but a bush tomato if I remember correctly.

 

[YumYum]

Cherokee Purple is a great tasting tomato but each and every one split on me. I couldn't even pick them early to avoid splitting. If not for that I'd love to grow them for a slicer but not sure how they would taste as a tomato juice.

Pink Brandywine is also a great tasting tomato and grows well for me but for some reason it makes a terrible tasting tomato juice.

Better Boys are indeterminate and not a bush type. One of my favorite tomatoes but it is a hybrid so I can't save my own seed.

By the way that is a good looking deer steak.

 

[Heirloom farmer1969]

I usually get Burpee seeds too. I will keep an eye out for Brandy Boy and try them, I don't mind hybrids. I love a strong flavored tomato, lots of acidity. I've grown Better Boy tomatoes before, they are not bad but a bush tomato if I remember correctly.

If you like the heirloom Brandywine, you'll love brandy boy!! The plant looks identical to the heirloom but don't get as carried away.
It's got a slightly more acidic taste I think which is what I like in a tomato.
Plus the tomatoes are more uniform in shape .

 

[pepper2.0]

Cherokee Purple is a great tasting tomato but each and every one split on me. I couldn't even pick them early to avoid splitting. If not for that I'd love to grow them for a slicer but not sure how they would taste as a tomato juice.

Why do you think they all split? I've had that happen before after long heavy rain once or twice. But those were a different kind. Maybe too hot?

Better Boys are indeterminate and not a bush type. One of my favorite tomatoes but it is a hybrid so I can't save my own seed.

Not a bush type, good to know.. It had no choice I guess when I stuck it in a tomato cage lol

By the way that is a good looking deer steak.

Thanks!

 

[pepper2.0]

If you like the heirloom Brandywine, you'll love brandy boy!! The plant looks identical to the heirloom but don't get as carried away.
It's got a slightly more acidic taste I think which is what I like in a tomato.
Plus the tomatoes are more uniform in shape .

I added that to my list of seeds to order. I like the idea they are more acidic!

 

[YumYum]

Why do you think they all split? I've had that happen before after long heavy rain once or twice. But those were a different kind. Maybe too hot?

Different varieties have different thickness of skins. Thin skinned varieties split when the fruit swells for different reasons. Abnormal uptake of water is one reason.

Seems like the really thin varieties taste the best. I tried one variety, I think it was Black Krim, and I couldn't even chew the skin up it was so thick. Like chewing on paper. No chance it was ever going to split on its own.

 

[nvidura]

That sounds like a fun experiment! It’s interesting how the Brandywines grew so big and ripened earlier...

 

[smitty55]

That Brandy Boy hybrid seems interesting, all I ever grow are heirloom varieties but with limited beds available for rotation dealing with early blight is always my biggest challenge. One thing I've always wondered about hybrids is that if their seeds are supposed to produce plants of varying characteristics so can't be saved how do the seed companies get seeds for sale. Or do they just say that seeds can't be saved so they make more sales?

EDIT: Ok , so I looked it up. What the seed companies do each year is produce hybrid seeds from the same two parent plants each year in a controlled environment to get the consistent results they want. It's a good business plan as then home gardeners cant use the resulting seeds and expect the same plant again. Now in my case if I tried to reuse hybrid seeds and got a plant I was real happy with I would be sure to save the seeds from that one plant and see if I get the same results the next season.

 

[smitty55]

Different varieties have different thickness of skins. Thin skinned varieties split when the fruit swells for different reasons. Abnormal uptake of water is one reason.

Another reason that I dealt with one year with my heirlooms that are thin skinned is that with long stretches of higher than normal temps tomatoes will naturally develop a thicker skin to deal with those temps and then with strong growth periods the skin can't stretch as well and will split. I lost a large part of a crop that year as by the time they were ripe wherever they split developed heavy mold.