A tomato with a cult following. But is it deserved? Find out in this review.
Paul Robeson is a purple/black slicing tomato that was developed in Russia. In recent years, purple/black tomatoes have become increasingly popular with chefs and home gardeners and the Paul Robeson has been one of the most praised of these varieties. For example, it recently won best of show at the Carmel Tomato Festival.
This year I grew the Paul Robeson, or "PR" as it is called by some, and several other purple/black tomatoes including Black Krim, Black Cherry and Japanese Trifele. From what has set on the plant, the Paul Robeson appears to produce a good quantity of tomatoes with a squat body, purple/black skin and green shoulders.
This weekend, I had the opportunity to taste this variety for the first time. I harvested a very nice sized, 14 ounce tomato and sliced it so that me, my wife and the kids could all try it.
Here's my impression... The Paul Robeson is a very good tomato. You would certainly be happy to serve one to a guest. However, I didn't "feel the earth move" when I tried it and think that Brandywine is still a better tasting tomato.
On a scale of 1-10, with 10 the best rating, here's how I'd rank Paul Robeson:
Flavor 7
Texture 7
Appearance 7
Yield 7
Tomatoes can vary quite a bit season to season, and this year we are having a rather cool spring and summer. I'd be willing to try PR again next year, but if I get similar results, I would probably drop it in favor of trying another variety. As I said, it's a very good tomato, but maybe a tad over-hyped.
Comments