Taste of wild tomatoes

[AndrewB]

What is about taste of neorickii, arcanum, huaylasense, chilense?

I have not grown these species.

Chilense is not a species I could get to flower in my climate. I tried at least twice. I would need to grow it in a greenhouse or stimulate it with giberellens or fertilizer and lights to trick it into flowering early.

[Alex]

Based on HRseeds, a red variation of Solanum Arcanum is great for salads, eating fresh; and a cross between a Solanum arcanum and a Solanum pimpinellifolium have a really nice taste and go great in salads, eating fresh and for tomato sauce and paste. No information about wild green Arcanum.

[Alex]

Wild Tomato (Lycopersicon pennellii = Solanum pennellii) this is wild species native to Northern Peru (Piura) to northern Chile (Tarapacá) (dry rocky places and sandy areas at sea level to 3000 m = 10 000ft). It is very different species than others (with specific appearance) and it belongs to monotypic "Neolycopersicon group" – intermediate between tomatoes and potatoes. It is unknown in its fruits are edible or not, but they have rather not bad taste. (http://unusualediblesandtheirwildrelatives.blogspot.com/2019/06/wild-tomato-species-lycopersicon-spp.html)

[Alex]

Based on HRseeds:
Solanum cheesmaniae: Quite sweet without acidity.
Solanum galapagense (non-hairy type): The fruits are edible and delicious BUT may have a toxicity so grow it as an ornamental till further research is done. We have eaten them already and had no side affects.
Solanum galapagense (hairy type): The fruits are NOT edible and are said to be toxic so grow it as an ornamental till further research is done.
Solanum pimpinellifolium: The fruits are edible delicious.
Solanum chmielewskii: The fruits are edible and delicious BUT may have a toxicity so grow it as an ornamental till further research is done.
Solanum corneliomulleri: The fruits are edible and are ripe when fallen to the ground.
Solanum peruvianum: The fruits are edible but may contain some alkaloids when unripe.
Solanum habrochaites: The fruits are edible but may contain some alkaloids when unripe.
Solanum pennellii: It is not know if the fruits are edible or not so grow as an ornamental for now.

Why Solanum galapagense (hairy type) is not edible?

[Alex]

galapagense: orange. Good taste, more interesting and bigger potential than cheesmaniae. Plants have odd smell like bug spray, which could affect flavor.

Did you eat hairy/non-hairy variety? Different taste?

[Cathy A]

How does the current generation of Neandermoto taste?

[Alex]

Based on HRseeds:
Solanum habrochaites (Lycopersicon hirsutum f. typicum): often pickled by locals

[Alex]

Based on Scirpidiella's Plants (http://unusualediblesandtheirwildrelatives.blogspot.com/2017/11/wild-tomatoe-species-lycopersicon-spp.html):

They are often edible and the taste of some species is much other than common tomato.

Solanum pimpinellifolium: the fruits have similar taste to common tomato, but they are more delicious (the taste is stronger).
Solanum cheesmaniae: fruits with taste similar to common tomato.
Solanum galapagense: very delicious with taste similar to common tomato.
Note: According to the context, the author grew both hairy and non-hairy varieties. So the information is about the taste of both of them.
Solanum habrochaites (Lycopersicon hirsutum f. typicum): the fruits are edible (in Equador they are pickled with an onion). Very delicious when fully ripe (with specific aroma and taste, very different than common tomato).
Solanum habrochaites (Lycopersicon hirsutum f. glabratum): the fruits are edible (in Ecuador they are pickled with an onion as previous form). Very delicious when fully ripe (with specific fruity aroma and taste).
Solanum peruvianum: the fruits are with acid taste and strong smell resembling something common tomato.
Solanum chmielewskii: very delicious, acidulous, with unusual aroma.

[Alex]

chmielewskii: similar to habrochiates I think, not great. This species has some sugar genes though I think.

More berry taste, than tomato flavor, seaweed flavor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLGUclL3IqU

[Alex]

Solanum corneliomulleri:
My second favourite out of the Eriopersicon sub-section speceis. Very nice showy flowers, wide leaves. Almost entirely resistant to bugs. leaves become more scentless as the plant ages and the fruits are amazing. The fruits have the texture and feel of a tomato but the taste is like a very sweet cucumber. It may taste strange at first but the fruits became very addictive to me. If you ever get the chance to grow this one, take it from me, it is worth it👍.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DsqmKyExiM

[Alex]

Solanum huaylasense:
Very similar to Solanum chilense. Has edible fruits that taste okay 👍.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXLnyzjmSGM

[Alex]

In my experience S.pimpinellifolium, S.spontaneum (S. pimpinellifolium var. ribeosdes) is so-so if it is not ripe, but if it is ripe and overripe, then it has an excellent taste of juice, but only juice, the pulp is so-so, a bit harsh. It will be better preserved than fresh. S. pimpinellifolium var. humboldtii is not bad when it is red, not pink.

[Alex]

In my experience, S.pennellii tomato has the taste of unripe gooseberries, but not sour, but slightly bitter like wormwood. The bitterness is very weak. The peel of the fruit tastes like the peel of an unripe Jamaican cherry, which is an exact analogy. Tasteless, but not inedible or poisonous, no side effects noted. Not for everyone. Many people on our island love bitter cucumbers, as well as Jamaican cherries, even unripe ones. There is no tomato taste.

[Alex]

In my experience S.pimpinellifolium, S.spontaneum (S. pimpinellifolium var. ribeosdes) is so-so if it is not ripe, but if it is ripe and overripe, then it has an excellent taste of juice, but only juice, the pulp is so-so, a bit harsh. It will be better preserved than fresh. S. pimpinellifolium var. humboldtii is not bad when it is red, not pink.

I would add that these overripe tomatoes are much tastier than store-bought ones and many times better than those grown on our island. They are not perfect, but compared to what we have on sale, they are much better. Only overripe S.pimpinellifolium is normal, unripe one is so-so.

[Alex]

In my experience
S.cheesmaniae from Joseph has a faint, strange taste that can only be felt after eating a lot of fruits. Many people don't feel it at all. HRseeds has an unreleased gal148 F1 hybrid, which exhibits this identical strange flavor very strongly.
Joseph's Improved Wild Galapagos Tomato (S.galapagense): small-fruited phenotype has no taste, large-fruited phenotype has little taste and looks like not pure S.galapagense.