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    You are here: Home / Recipes / Colors & Seasons / REAL Rainbow Tomatoes

    REAL Rainbow Tomatoes

    Sep 6, 2020 · 5 Comments

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    Tomatoes come in all sorts of shapes, sizes, flavors and COLORS!

    Let’s celebrate the colors of seasonally fresh, sweet and juicy rainbow tomatoes all summer long!

    Because heirloom tomatoes really DO come in every color of the rainbow!

    Rainbow tomatoes! A flatly image of a rainbow made out of different heirloom tomatoes. There's red, orange, yellow, green, white, and purple tomatoes.

    There’s red, pink, orange, yellow, white, green, purple, almost black and practically infinite shades in between! And streaked and stripped tomatoes too! 

    Did ya know that there’s more than 15,000 known varieties of tomatoes (WHOA!)?!?!

    So why do we always see the same few varieties of red tomatoes at the supermarket?

    Because most of the supermarket varieties aren't heirlooms! They are hybrid tomatoes!

    Daniela Gerson holding a black plate filled with different varieties of tomato that together create a rainbow!

    What are Rainbow Tomatoes?

    First thangs first: let’s define our terms. 

    When the colors of the rainbow are creating by combining different tomatoes, we’re referring to those tomatoes as rainbow tomatoes!

    They are not a variety of tomato. 

    Rather the term used to describe tomatoes of any shape, size and color who colors collectively create a rainbow.

    A tomato rainbow! 6 heirloom tomatoes in different colors: Deep purple, deep red, orange, yellow, yellow-green and green-white.
    a Tomato Rainbow!
    Rainbow cherry and heirloom tomatoes in red, orange, yellow, green and purple.
    when life gives ya tomatoes in every color, make a rainbow.

    What’s an Heirloom Tomato?

    Heirloom tomatoes is an all-encompassing terms referring to varieties of tomatoes whose seeds have been passed down for generations.  

    These are in sharp contrast to the hybrid tomatoes most typically found at the supermarkets, which are hybrid tomatoes. 

    A hybrid tomato is the result of intentionally cross-pollinating two different varieties of tomatoes. This crossbreeding is done so that the resulting tomato has particular traits (such as improved disease resistance, more dependable yields, etc.).  

    cherry and heirloom tomatoes, in all the colors of the rainbow, on a pink plate; overhead shot.

    Main Factors Differentiating Heirloom vs Hybrid Tomatoes:

    • You can grow heirloom tomatoes from their seeds
    • Heirloom tomatoes are open-pollinated (commercially grown hybrid tomatoes are not)

    Notes:

    Heirloom tomatoes are often but not necessarily organic. They would still be called heirlooms even if they were treated with pesticides and other chemicals. 

    In theory, you can create a hybrid from heirlooms. If you’ve come across any heirloom hybrid tomatoes, please share in the comments below!

    Heirloom Tomatoes come in a stunning array of colors and unique flavor profiles!

    A basket filled with different shapes, sizes and colors of heirloom tomatoes. These colorful heirloom tomatoes are in every color of the rainbow! Overhead shot.
    Daniela Gerson holding a pink plate filled with tomatoes in all the colors of the rainbow.

    Why are Tomatoes Different Colors?

    The color of tomatoes is genetic and encoded in the variety’s ancestry. 

    It is the result of both the pigments in the tomatoes skin and the color the interior. 

    For example, there’s yellow-green tomatoes as the result of a yellow tomato skin over a green interior and bright green tomatoes that come from a nearly clean tomato skin over a green interior. And there’s dark purple Cherokee Purple tomato, that’ often described as black, that has a deep crimson interior and a clear skin, which combine to give it its distinctive color. 

    Even within a single tomato color, there’s practically infinite hues!

    A single vine of heirloom cherry tomatoes in different colors! Ranging from red to green on a single vine!
    and sometimes there's even different colors on the same vine! These are sweet pea current tomatoes.

    Within the orange – yellow – white spectrum, fom pale lemon yellow to deep golden to bright orange and many many shades in between! These color variations are created by flesh pigments with clear or yellow skins. 

    Tomatoes within the purple to black spectrum retain some chlorophyll (green pigment) during ripening that combines with a crimson red interior to produces a darker red, including purple coloration. 

    Side angle shot of a basked filled with rainbow tomatoes!

    The Colors of Heirloom Tomatoes 

    Different pigments in tomatoes tend to produce different balances of sugars and acids. For example, orange or yellow tomatoes often taste milder and less acidic than red tomatoes.

    Let’s explore all the rainbow colors of heirloom tomatoes! 

    Red tomatoes: Typically, container a higher acidity than other tomato colors and deliver the classic tomato taste. Though there’s a whole wide world of variety just within the red tomato world!

    Examples: Stupice, Costoluto and hessalonik

    Pink Tomatoes: Tend to be sweeter and somewhat milder than their red counterparts, with medium acid levels (less than red but more than green). 

    Examples: the best know pink variety, Pink Brandywine, is prized for its intense tomato flavor and tangy taste. 

    Orange Tomatoes: Tend to be mild, sweet and are low-acid. 

    Examples: Persimmon tomatoes, Juane Flamme and Kellog’s breakfast. 

    Yellow & White Tomatoes: color ranges anywhere from a dark and bright yellow to a light practically white yellow. White tomatoes are not truly white but very pale yellow with clear or very pale yellow skin. The common factor is low acidity. The lighter colors have the lowest acid of any of the tomato varieties. 

    Examples: Yellow Pear, Gold Medal Yellow, Great White and White Wonder. 

    Green Tomatoes: Not to be confused with unripe tomatoes! They vary in sweetness, but the commonality of green tomato is a bright acidity.

    Examples: Green Zebra and Green Moldovan. 

    Purple & Black Tomatoes: Purple or black tomatoes have a strong, robust, smoky flavor. They hold onto more of their chlorophyll than most other varieties and tend to have higher acid levels, along the lines of a red tomato. 

    Examples: Black Cherry, Black Beauty and Cherokee Purple. 

    Tomato flavor range from mild to sweet to tangy and even smoky, with vary degrees of acidity. 

    • It's a tomato and fresh fig rainbow! There's red, orange, yellow, green, purple and lots of shades in between!
      Making Rainbows...
    • A tomato, cucuamelon and fig rainbow! The tomatoes are on the red-orange-yellow spectrum and the figs and cucamelons are green and purple.
      ... out of Tomatoes!

    Where can I find Rainbow Tomatoes?

    Head to your local farmers market in the summer to find the whole color spectrum of heirloom tomatoes!

    Red, pink, orange, yellow, white, green, purple, black-ish and all the shades in between – get your rainbow tomato game on at your local farmers market! 

    Regardless of the color, a ripe tomato from the farmers market will taste better and be bursting with more tomato flavor than any you’ll find at the supermarket!

    Stoked on all the colors of rainbow tomatoes?

    Me too! Check out these dishes that celebrate rainbow tomatoes:

    • Tomato Galette
    • Baked Feta with Tomatoes
    • Cherry Tomato Confit
    • Pasta with Fresh Tomatoes

    And check out these images of all sorts of delicious food featuring colorful tomatoes!

    • Side angle rainbow tomato summer tart shot! There's red, orange and yellow tomatoes.
      Heirloom Cherry Tomato & Ricotta Tart
    • Baked feta with bright yellow and red tomatoes, overhead shot.
      Baked Feta with Tomatoes
    • Different shades of red and yellow cherry tomato confit on top of pasta with burrata in a pink plate, overhead shot.
      Tomato Confit Pasta
    Different shades of red and purple cherry tomatoes in a pan with garlic and basil, overhead shot.
    tomato confit in the making!
    • Side angle shot of orange and purple cherry tomatoes in a pan with garlic, being made into confit; pre-oven.
      tomato confit in the making!
    • Rainbow cherry tomatoes! Red, orange and purple cherry tomatoes in a pan with garlic, cherry tomato in process shot.
      tomato confit in the making!
    • Rainbow tomatoes! There's orange, green stripped, red stripped and red-purple tomatoes, divided into small bowls by color.
      a Rainbow of Tomatoes!
    • A rainbow heirloom tomato tart, overhead and pre-oven shot. The tomatoes are arranged on the dough like a rainbow, from red to purple.
      Rainbow Tomato Galette!
    • An heirloom rainbow tomato tart! Pre-oven, overhead shot, on a white background.
      Rainbow Tomato Galette!
    • An heirloom rainbow tomato tart filled with very colorful tomatoes! Pre-oven, overhead shot, on a black background.
      Rainbow Tomato Galette!
    The rainbow cherry tomatoes topping this galette are: Roselle & Black Cherry, Matt Cherry, Sweet Pea Current Tomatoes, Sungold, Yellow Pear, Barrys Crazy, and Blue Cream Berries.
    • Red, orange and yellow cherry tomato salad, with lemon, purple cabbage and onion; overhead shot.
      Colorful Tomato Salad
    • A rainbow tomatoes summer salad on a white plate and white background, overhead shot.
      Rainbow Summer Tomato Salad
    • Fresh rainbow tomatoes with feta! There' red, orange, yellow, and purple tomato in the pan with basil, garlic and spices; overhead shot.
      Feta with Cherry Tomatoes

    Stoked on the Colors of Produce?!

    Check out these Pink Apples, Red Okra, Pink Lemons and Rainbow Apples!

    If you're also red okra stoked I’d love to hear about it and see them too! Please leave a comment below and take a pic and tag it on Instagram with #DanielaGerson. You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest to see more colorfully delicious food and all sorts of awesome adventures!

    Let's make waves in the kitchen!

    Daniela Gerson holding a plate filled with heirloom and cherry tomatoes in all the colors of the rainbow.
    sometimes I dress up for my tomatoes too!
    « Pickled Fruit
    Fig Cake »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Jacqueline Gerson says

      September 28, 2020 at 2:53 pm

      Daniela I have never seen so many beautiful images of colorful tomatoes before! It really is so amazing how they come in every color of the rainbow!!! Your images are simply STUNNING!

      Reply
      • Daniela Gerson says

        September 28, 2020 at 3:01 pm

        Right?!?! How AMAZZZZING is mother nature and the colors of produce?! I'm constantly in awe of the colors of produce! And how they really do come in every color of the rainbow :-):):)!

        Reply

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    Meet Daniela

    VEGGIES ARE SEXY 

    Hi, I'm Daniela - a Los Angeles based food photographer and creative director. I began my career as a chef with a passion for sourcing colorful produce from local markets. I love emphasizing the beauty of real food with my images. I’m also a food stylist and recipe developer with a gorgeous prop-filled studio in Venice, California.

    Daniela Gerson Photography

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