You may not have realized that heirloom tomatoes come in black, purple, and brown. Although, I have to admit that their colors are a bit subjective. These dark beauties ripen in various shades depending on the individual seeds, the environment, and whether you see brownish-purple or purplish-brown. For this reason, I’ve put together a list that contains a variety of each color.
Don’t let the dull colors of these tomatoes fool you. Many of them have rich and complex flavors. They can be very sweet, subtle, and often smoky. They come in all kinds of shapes and sizes, excellent on sandwiches and wildly different looking. Like the white heirloom tomato varieties, the dark tomatoes are just as versatile as any red tomato that you’ve used in the kitchen.
Black, Purple, and Brown Heirloom Tomatoes
- Beduin – This is a meaty, deep brick-colored tomato with a pear shape and weighs 3-4 ounces. It has delicious flavor for fresh eating and is great for canning, too.
- Black Cherry – These 1lb, round tomatoes have a dusky purple-brown color with the rich flavor that black tomatoes are known for. These make a gorgeous addition mixed with other cherry tomatoes in the garden and on the salad plate.
- Black from Tula – This rare Russian heirloom ties for best-tasting black with Black Krim. The deep, purple-brown variety is a large, 8-12 ounce tomato with a rich, sweet, and spicy flavor.
- Black Krim – This is one of the best of the black tomatoes. It’s a very juicy, dark red-purple fruit from Russia and was named for the Crimean peninsula in the Black Sea.
- Black Prince – This black-chocolate brown heirloom comes from Siberia. It has a deep and sweet flavor that’s wonderful on salads.
- Cherokee Purple – This is a pre-1890 Cherokee Indian heirloom tomato that’s an old favorite. It’s a dark, purple-pink color and has a fabulously sweet flavor.
- Eva Purple Ball – This German heirloom is a lovely and terrific performer in hot growing zones. The fruits are a rich, pink-purple color and weigh 4-5 ounces.
- Gypsy – This colorful fruit is named for the Russian gypsies. It’s a very deep purple-maroon color and has great flavor.
- Paul Robeson – This Russian variety was named in honor of the black opera singer and Russian equal rights advocate. It’s an extremely popular variety with seed collectors and connoisseurs. It’s black-brick in color and has a smoky, sweet, rich flavor that’s hard for gardeners to resist.
- Purple Calabash – This is an interesting tomato because it’s 3″, flat, ribbed, and ruffled. Many people have never seen tomatoes like these; they’re really wonderful to look at. It’s a very popular purple tomato that has a sweet but tart flavor like a lime.
- True Black Brandywine – Here’s one for the collectors out there. Apparently, True Black Brandywine came from the Quaker family of the renowned William Woys Weaver. This black-purple tomato dates back to the 1920s. The delicious fruits that have a sweet, earthy flavor.
- Violet Jasper or Tzi Bi U – This delicious, high-yielding little fruit is an absolutely gorgeous violet-purple color striped with an iridescent green.
- Vorlon – This heirloom is from Bulgaria but named after a fictional alien race. This lovely purple-black tomato has a rich, smoky, organic flavor. Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds introduced it this year.
Where to Purchase Heirloom Tomato Seeds
- Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds
- Reimer Seeds
- Seed Savers Exchange
- Victory Seeds
- Terrior Seeds
- D.Landreth Seed Company
Remember that the tomato varieties listed are heirlooms and you can save their seeds to be replanted the following year and every year after. Heirloom seeds will produce plants and fruit that have the same characteristics as the parent plant. Let’s see a hybrid tomato pull off that trick.
Check out Growing Heirloom Sweet and Bell Peppers in the Vegetable Garden, Growing Heirloom Hot Peppers in the Vegetable Garden and Growing Heirloom Radishes in the Home Vegetable Garden.