No. 008 · heirloom
Brandywine
Brandywine is an indeterminate heirloom beefsteak with pink fruit. It ripens in about 90 days.
Typebeefsteak
Habitindeterminate
Days to maturity90
Fruit size12 to 24 oz
Colorpink
Difficultychallenging
Flavor
The reference point many growers use for full, rich tomato flavor with a balancing acidity. A potato-leaf heirloom prized for taste rather than productivity. Attributed description, not a measured claim.
Origin
An old pink beefsteak documented in the W. Atlee Burpee catalog as early as 1886, with older references noted. The popular belief in an Amish origin has no documented support.
What it does well
- Benchmark heirloom flavor
- Large sandwich-sized fruit
- Potato-leaf foliage that growers find handsome
Where it frustrates
- Very late, 80 to 100 days, which is marginal for short seasons
- Low yield
- Green shoulders and cracking
Like Brandywine, but...
Sold out, or after a change? The closest alternatives, and how they differ.
Related reading
Sources
- Brandywine (tomato) · Wikipedia