First Mortgage Lifter

I ate my first garden fresh Mortgage Lifter today. I always refrigerate the tomatoes we will eat that evening. It seems to intensify the flavor for me. I still don't understand why many people believe the Mortgage Lifter to be rather bland as heirloom tomatoes go. The tomato I ate this evening had that old fashioned tart tang that I miss all winter while eating the grocery store cardboard tomatoes. Now I have to wait for another week or so for some of the other varieties to ripen. Many people rate the WES and Prue pretty high. It will be interesting to see how they compare to the Mortgage Lifter. I am also anticipating the Pink Berkeley Tie Die. They sure are pretty with the stripping but I'm not sure I will know when they are ripe. I don't know if the green disappears when they are ripe. They are supposed to be multicolored so I guess I will go by feel instead of looks. The early Harnas was also surprisingly good for an early variety. We have been eating the Sungolds for a couple of weeks and they are outstanding. I can't compare their taste to other tomatoes because it is so different from others. I think I am eating a tart/sweet berry from a berry bush of some kind when I eat a Sungold. The sweet taste is so pronounced that it would be difficult to identify it as a tomato if I was blind folded and had never eaten one. The Improved Porter was also good. I have the one that looks like pink chicken eggs instead of the globe shaped red one. I am hoping it's flavor intensifies with hot weather. All of my lettuce has started to bolt and become bitter with the warmer weather so I guess it's back to store bought iceberg lettuce for the summer. I can't complain because my summer squash, cucumbers, peppers, and onions really add a nice variety to our meals with the great tomatoes. I hope each of you are also blessed with a productive and tasty garden this year. Ted

[JohnWayne]

Congrats ! I'm glad your Mortgage lifters turned out so well. I have planted those but it was in the last few years and I didn't harvest a one. Hearing your description makes me want to try them again.

[stonysoilseeds]

i have to wait until august to start munching on my sungols but thier worth the wait they remind me of small apricots in flavor i wish i could find an open pollinated cherry to match thier flavor vut so far there havent been any even coming close

[Sun City Linda]

Ted, I like MLs too! Sounds like you have the original Porter or, as Bonnie Plants RENAMED it Porters Dark Cherry The original is kind of a dark pink oval, Porters Improved is more round red.

Having never grown any Porter varieties in the past, I purchased a couple of plants at a nursery this year that were labeled "Improved Porter". I bought them simply because I was aware of the confusion over "Improved Porter", "Porters Improved", and a couple of other names. I wanted to plant them to see what would develop. My curiosity caused me to buy the only variety I planted this year that I didn't germinate myself. The little tomatoes are loaded with seed, so I will have plenty to grow my own and share with anyone looking for the "Pink Egg" shaped Improved Porter tomato. Ted

[The Future]

From what I've read, refrigerating dulls the enzymes in tomatoes and thus their taste...but if it works for you....keep doing it.

Originally Posted by The Future

From what I've read, refrigerating dulls the enzymes in tomatoes and thus their taste...but if it works for you....keep doing it.

I've read the same thing and if the tomatoes are stored in the refrigerator, the statement is probably correct. I refrigerate tomatoes in the morning that I plan on eating that evening. For me, it seems to intensify the taste. It's probably like salting tomatoes, some people do it and some people don't. Ted

[Deborah]

WHAT ! Unsalted tomatoes??? Gee, my favorite thing is to salt and savor tomatoes literally right off the vine.
I use this delicious salt called Real Salt. (Good thing my doctor's not seeing this !)

I will eat them off the vine in the spring. I don't usually eat them off the vine when the temps approach 100 degrees because they simply don't taste good to me when they are that warm. Sometimes I salt them and sometimes I don't. My preference is to cover the cold slices with a good olive oil and balsamic vinegar. We had a mixed variety of slices with avocado slices for a dinner salad this evening. The oil and vinegar was the perfect compliment for the salad. The funny thing is I treat different varieties in different ways. Some varieties are a little bland and salt enhances the taste. Other varieties have very pronounced flavors and salt distracts from the tomato flavor. Most of the black or dark varieties have a very soft texture I don't like when they are fully ripe. By refrigerating them for a few hours, the texture seems to firm up a little. Ted

[deerhunter]

big round red sliced oxheart s chilled with fannys saled dressing. can't wait.

[kath]

It's always nice to find another tomato variety that you like- no matter what other people think of it. Sungolds are amazing and unique and I'm definitely a fan. I've never tried Mortgage Lifter but the more acidic flavored tomatoes usually aren't a hit at my house but I did prefer Prue over Wes last year and am growing it again. Pink Berkeley Tie Dye was a disappointment for me because the fruit and the plant were beauties and I had the impression it was going to be sweet but it wasn't. Someone said they felt that I wasn't waiting until the fruits were ripe enough and that could be true, so I wanted to pass that along to you. Hope you let us know which other ones you like once they're ripe.

kath

[duajones]

I have ML in my garden for the first time. It is a nursery bought transplant that I picked up after my original starts came down with TYLCV. Hearing that many consider if bland is not good news as it has fared better production wise than the other 5 nursery starts.

And for what its worth, I never refrigerate tomatoes that I am going to eat fresh. Anything longer than an hour in the cold blands the taste for me.

[PA_Julia]

I bet it tasted absolutely delicious Ted!


Julia

Thank you Julia! It tasted great and I expect the mid to later season tomatoes from the same plant to taste even better.

Ted