We have been tasting tomatoes and judging which are best for several years now.

Past contenders for best tomato have included Jubilee (a very pretty orange one) and Rose DeBerne, an heirloom from Switzerland. This year there were a few surprises.

In general, tasters gave higher marks to tomatoes this year than last. We think this may be because of the dry weather. Tomatoes lose a little size but gain in sweetness when they are stressed a bit for water. Knowing this, we gave them half or less of the irrigation that more thirsty crops got.

We had to crowd into the barn because of the threat of rain. A highlight this year: several folks brought snacks based on tomatoes.

Here is how this year’s group of tomatoes fared:

Number One (score 4.66, range 4-5, mode 5): Slicer (our name) is actually a Peron Sprayless Tomato, introduced in the early 50’s from Argentina. It is disease and crack resistant, tasty and a reliable producer here for many years.

Second Place: Rose De Berne (score 4.4, range 1-5, mode 5). This heirloom from Switzerland is a lovely rose color, almost always perfectly shaped and blemish-free. And it tastes great! It got one score of 1, or else .it would have been a prefect “5.” This one is very fragile with a thin skin — you will not find it at the supermarket! Last year this tied for first place with Jubilee.

Third: Blue Beech (score 4.28, range 4-5, mode 4): Blue Beech Farm in Danby, VT was the original source of this great tasting paste tomato in this country. It came over from Italy during WWII. This one is a surprise, since it is fleshy tomato that cans well and makes great sauce, and was not grown specifically as a good eating tomato.

Fourth: Early Girl (score 4.25, range 2-5, mode 5): This hybrid is one of our stalwarts of the early tomato crop. Flavor is good enough to keep this dependable producer.

Fifth: Glacier (score 3.66, range 2-5, mode 4): This is always the first tomato in the harvest, and has generally done better than this in the testing. But it is still a tasty and very early one that we will keep growing.

Sixth: Jubilee (score 3.62, range 3-5, mode 3): This one fell from first place. It is a beautiful orange tomato that has been up and down in the taste tests over the years. 

Seventh: Orange Oxheart (score 3, range 1-5, mode 2/5): A friend gave us this plant and we have not been particularly impressed at any stage of its growth. It is often described as very flavorful, but hardly anybody seems to refer to it as good. A couple of you liked it a lot, but we are not planning to go out looking for seeds for this one next year. 

We grew a couple others that did not do well enough in the gardens to qulify for the taste test. And we got one from a friend - purple cherokee - that we may have to try next year...