Organic Cuor di Bue GRAFTED plants - Beefsteak

The Tomato Cuor di Bue or Beefsteak Tomato is an old mid-season variety, producing large heart-shaped red fruits weighing around 230g. Its dense, sweet, and extremely flavorful flesh makes it ideal for use in salads, juice, gazpacho, or stuffed. The Tomato is a plant that is grown as an annual, requiring warmth and rich soil. The plug plants of the Beefsteak Tomato are planted from April to June, after the last frosts, for a harvest from July to October.

The Tomato originates from South America and Central America. Several varieties were already cultivated by the Incas long before the arrival of the Conquistadors. The term "Tomate" comes from the Inca Tomatl and refers to both the plant and the fruit produced by the plant. It is one of the many foods that came to us from the New World, along with beans, corn, squash, potatoes, and chili peppers. The Tomato took significantly longer to reach our taste buds. For a good reason: it was long cultivated for its aesthetic and medicinal qualities, but it was considered toxic due to its resemblance to the fruit of the Mandrake, another Solanaceae. It only became a regular on our tables from the beginning of the 20th century.

The Tomato is a perennial herbaceous plant in tropical climates, but it is grown as an annual in our latitudes. It becomes woody over time and produces small insignificant yellow flowers arranged in clusters that will turn into fruits. The Tomato can be grown in the ground but can also be grown in containers on a balcony, preferably using varieties with compact growth.

It is a fruit vegetable that has many nutritional benefits. Low in calories like most vegetables, rich in water, it contains a particularly interesting molecule: lycopene, a powerful antioxidant. It is also rich in vitamin C, provitamin A, and trace elements.

In terms of cuisine, Tomatoes can be consumed raw or cooked in many ways: in salads or as appetizers, grilled, stuffed, marinated, preserved, in ratatouille, or as a sauce. They come in all colors, shapes, and sizes. Take advantage of this and cultivate several varieties in your vegetable garden to vary the pleasures!

Harvesting: The harvesting periods vary depending on the earliness: early varieties are harvested from 55 to 70 days after planting, mid-season varieties from 70 to 85 days, and late varieties beyond 85 days. The fruits should be harvested when they have reached their final color and when their texture, while remaining firm, shows a slight softening. For better preservation, be sure to pick the fruit with its calyx. Be careful, immature fruits, stems, and leaves contain solanine and should not be consumed.

Storage: The optimal storage temperature for tomatoes is between 10 and 15°C (50 and 59°F). Refrigeration is possible but it alters the taste qualities of the fruits. For longer storage, tomatoes can be preserved by confit, dried, frozen, canned, or cooked into jam. To confit them, cut your tomatoes in half and collect the juice. Place your half tomatoes facing upwards on a baking sheet. Season with salt, pepper, and sugar, then bake at a very low temperature for at least an hour. Remove your tomatoes, store them in a glass jar, and cover with olive oil.

Gardener's Tip: To limit watering, we recommend mulching the soil with thin successive layers of grass clippings, if possible mixed with dead leaves. This protection, which keeps the soil moist, also limits weed growth.