Type

Paste tomatoes

Paste tomatoes are dense and dry with meaty walls and few seeds, bred for sauce, canning, and roasting rather than fresh eating. Many are determinate, so the crop ripens in a concentrated window for putting up.

8 varieties

San MarzanoPaste
San Marzanoopen-pollinated · 85 days · LateCompared with Roma, San Marzano is described as stronger, sweeter and less acidic, with thicker flesh and fewer seeds, which is why it is the benchmark sauce and canning tomato. Attributed description, not a measured claim.
Amish PastePaste
Amish Pasteheirloom · 85 days · LateDescribed as somewhat seedier and sweeter than normal paste cultivars, with catalogs calling the flavor excellent and the flesh meaty and large for a sauce tomato. This is the recurring catalog and grower description, not a measured claim.
RomaPaste
Romaopen-pollinated · 75 days · MidDescribed in catalogs as mild and sometimes tangy and meaty, valued more for firm, low-moisture flesh than for bold taste. This is the recurring catalog and grower description, not a measured claim.
Speckled RomanPaste
Speckled Romanopen-pollinated · 81 days · LateDescribed as having excellent flavor, dense and meaty enough to cook quickly into sauce yet good enough to eat fresh. This is the recurring catalog and grower description, not a measured claim.
OpalkaPaste
Opalkaheirloom · 82 days · LateDescribed by Fedco tasters as round and mellow, full-bodied with a pleasing texture and lingering good aftertaste. This is the recurring catalog and grower description, not a measured claim.
Black PlumPaste
Black Plumheirloom · 80 days · MidDescribed as sweet, meaty, and complex with the earthy depth typical of dark tomatoes, good enough that some prefer it to Roma for sauce. This is the recurring catalog and grower description, not a measured claim.
Paste
Principe Borgheseheirloom · 75 days · MidDescribed as concentrated and meaty rather than juicy, the classic Italian tomato for sun drying. This is the recurring catalog and grower description, not a measured claim.
Paste
Goldman's Italian Americanopen-pollinated · 80 days · MidDescribed as rich and full for a paste type, meaty enough for sauce yet good sliced. This is the recurring catalog and grower description, not a measured claim.