The Science

of New
High-Flavor
Tomatoes
by Kevin M. Folta

14 The Cooks Cook | February/March 2016

hen I was a child, during the months of July

and August the family laundry basket would
get a workout. With me on one side and my
little sister on the other, wed lug bushels of
garden tomatoes from the yard to the kitchen. We lived just
outside of Chicago, and the rich soils and my familys greenish
thumbs brought us an annual bounty of tomatoes that wed eat
fresh, then process the rest in jars for the long winter.

In that warped blue plastic basket, my mom would shift the fruits
around and select a perfect sun-warmed tomato. Shed look at it
for a few seconds, then place the red ripe fruit on a worn cutting
board under our sharpest knife. As the skin would yield to the
slice, a drip of sweet red-orange juice would race down the edge,
ending as an aromatic puddle. Shed sprinkle on a little salt, then
eat it with a fork, one tiny bite at a time. It was a delicate and
tasty slice of summer, and a moment to savor. The familiar fruit
was in its finest form.
Yesterday I stood at a local sandwich shop and watched a
corporately-festooned employee deal out funny pink tomato
slices from a neat stack in an icy incubator onto a bed of anemic
white lettuce. This was a tomato in its modern form, a remarkable
departure from the red orb of the family garden, now a half-ripe,
pathetic slab of sandwich decoration. The definition of tomato
had officially shifted, moved from a prized fruit to a clownish
condiment.

Why have tomatoes changed so much? Consumers demand

uniform, affordable, safe fruit, and they want it 365 days a
year. But tomatoes, like any fruit, are difficult to produce. Tiny
fragile plants must be nurtured in acres of production plantings.
These plants are then under assault from nature, as weather and
plant diseases haunt even the most pristine fields. Growing,
harvesting, shipping, and retailing perishable fruit is not an easy
business, and to have a slice of tomato in January, on a Winnipeg
fast-food hamburger, is almost a little miraculous.
So how can we make that large-scale production tomato on par
with the ones from my family garden? Today scientists use their
knowledge to improve the tomato, orchestrating the unlikely
marriage of the best heirloom sensory traits with the qualities
required for wide-scale production. It is using good-old plant sex
to move genes, followed by arduous searching for the rare vine
in fields of failures that yields fruits with production quality and
sensory excellence.
The search for the perfect tomato has been going on at the
University of Floridas Horticultural Sciences Department.
There, Dr. Harry Klee has spent decades pondering the perfect
tomato, and now science tools have finally caught up with his
ambitions, providing new molecular tricks that make the elusive
tomato variety more likely to be found. It is as if hes looking for
the proverbial needle in a haystack but now hes armed with a
powerful magnet. This should make things easier.

www.thecookscook.com 15

Courtesy photo

The new hybrid variety has genetics that produce a deep red color, along with outstanding flavor.

The new tools are DNA sequencing resources. In short, it is now

relatively cheap and easy to obtain the entire genetic code for
a given plant. Klee now has biological blueprints of hundreds
of tomato varieties. He also has information about the volatile
chemicals, acids, and sugars naturally present in tomatoes
that heighten the sensory experience. Together with faculty
in the Plant Innovation Center, he has collected disk drives of
consumer preference data that show how those chemical profiles
influence consumer reaction.
Information about consumer desire and knowledge of influential
flavor compounds and the genetic blueprints allow intricate
comparisons to be made. Scientists look for trends that match
consumer taste experience to certain genes or certain compounds.
Once those genes or aromatic chemicals are identified, it makes
it easier to select parent plants to eventually bundle all the best
qualities into one plant.
Two new tomato varieties were released last year that are
primarily targeted to the home garden. These varieties, called
Garden Gem and Garden Treasure, are the result of a
cross from an outstanding Florida production tomato-parent
and a specific heirloom. The production variety brings disease
resistance, firmness, and size. The heirloom brings flavor and
aromas. Together they make a nearly perfect tomato.

16 The Cooks Cook | February/March 2016

This year Dr. Klee will release a new tomato variety where one
parent provided a gene to produce a deep red color. The color is
the result of lycopene, a natural compound producing attractive
red colors in fruits and vegetables. Lycopene has potential roles
in human health, and also is processed into an array of other
compounds, several contributing to flavors. In short, this years
garden invention doesnt just taste better, it might be better for
you.
Klees efforts in studying tomato DNA blueprints, and using
them to make decisions about plants to cross, dramatically
decrease randomness and chance in the process of new variety
development. Hes one of many plant scientists searching
for that new molecular recipe that rapidly improves products
for consumers, while being feasible for farmers to grow.
Understanding the consumer, the compounds that stimulate the
senses, and now tomato genetics, all allow scientists to rapidly
create new exciting varieties with tantalizing flavor and aromas.
While Garden Gem and Garden Treasure tomato varieties
are not yet for sale, seeds can be obtained as a thank-you gift for
a $10 donation to Dr. Klees tomato breeding program.
http://hos.ufl.edu/kleeweb/newcultivars.html

RECIPE

Panzanella
Serves 4
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
400 grams (2 cups) chopped tomato
133 grams (1 cup) chopped seedless cucumber
90 grams (1/2 cup) chopped green bell pepper
4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) chopped sweet onion
454 grams (4 cups) cubed sourdough bread, toasted
15 grams (1/2 cup) chopped fresh parsley
4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) fresh basil leaves, cut into
wide ribbons
80 grams (1/2 cup) crumbled ricotta salata or

feta cheese

1. In a large bowl, combine the vinegar, olive oil, salt,

pepper, and garlic. Whisk to blend.
2. A
 dd tomato, cucumber, bell pepper, and onion. Toss
to mix. Allow to marinate at room temperature for 30
minutes to 2 hours.
3. A
 dd bread, parsley, and basil; toss gently. Sprinkle
with cheese, and serve immediately.

Pixabay.com

RECIPE

Bruschetta
Serves 4
Cut thick slices from a crusty round loaf and grill,
preferably over an open flame, though toasting or
broiling is ok. It is especially nice when the bread has a
bit of charred areas from the grill. Rub one side of the
grilled bread with a cut garlic clove.

For four slices chop flavorful tomatoes to make

approximately 400 grams (2 cups). In a bowl, combine
with 2 tablespoons chopped basil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and
freshly ground black pepper to taste. Spoon onto the
grilled bread and drizzle with excellent Italian olive oil.
Cut into strips and serve.

Recipes by Eva Baughman

www.thecookscook.com 17