Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
sue_ct

Purple or Pink?

sue_ct
9 years ago

I have people, friends and family, who don't like "odd" colored tomatoes, like purples, blacks, yellow or orange. They would be fine with reds and I honestly don't think they would notice the difference between a red and a pink. Now my dilemma. I have a number of good sized Eva Purple Ball and Pruden's Purple plants. I have never grown these before. They are both described as deep pink. The problem is that when I google them I see photos ranging from mid to dark pink to purples that almost look like Cherokee Purple. What do these really look like? Do I need to save them only for people who like "purple" tomatoes or are they closer to the red/pink families? In other words, will they look like "normal" tomatoes to the uninitiated, lol?

Comments (7)

  • carolyn137
    9 years ago

    Starting in the late 1800's the word purple was used to describe pink tomatoes, so there are many varieties with purple as part of the name, and they are all pink, and that tradition of using purple to mean pink is still going on,

    So varieties such as PrudensPurple, Eva Purple Ball, Aunt Ginny's Purple and on and on are all pink,

    I know of very few varieties that actually do have some real purple and they would include Purple Smudge, Purple Smudge Orange Flesh, Purple Calabash, Noir des Cosebeauf and just a few more.

    You can't reallycompare the colors of fruits from different websites since photography used can be very different.

    I know Cherokee Purple very well, was one of the first to grow it since my friend Craig LeHoullier named it. I call it a pink /black and call a variety such as Carbon red/black. CP has a clear epidermis, thus the pink and Carbon has a yellow epidermis thus the red/black, but Cherokee Purple has no true purple color.

    I also know Eva Purple Ball very well and was one of the first to offer it in the 1992 SSE Yearbook along with Joe Bratka, who is the originator of the variety and from whom I got my seeds. Eva Purple is not dark pink, far from it, it's a nice light pink and a great variety IMO.

    Hope this helps,

    Carolyn

  • digdirt2
    9 years ago

    Definite pinks. Eva is an annual favorite of ours. Pruden's less of a fav but no doubt it's a pink.

    Dave

  • sue_ct
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Dave, I can't define "pinks" I am just trying to decide if someone who doesn't know the subtleties of tomato coloring, which I still struggle with sometimes, would consider these two "normal" or "odd" colored tomatoes. Getting technical really won't help here. Cherokee Purple does not look like a "normal" colored tomato, although I love it, I love many colors and types. But not everyone who says they could use a few plants feels the same. Today my brother said he needed some but last time I gave him some he ended up with purple ones and orange ones and last year he bought some and ended up with a yellow one that tasted good but didn't look good due to shape and discolorations, etc. He does a LOT for me and I would like to help him out with a few plants. But giving him plants he won't like will not be a help to him. Do these tomatoes look more like Cherokee Purple in color or more like Pink Brandywine?

  • seysonn
    9 years ago

    I know just the basics of color spectrum/wheel and mixing. Red, Green, and Blue are the fundamental colors.

    Technically, "Pink" is just a shade of red. It is just lighter red. If you take some RED ACRYLIC paint and add little white to it, it will become pink (light pink, pink, hot pink). But to make PURPLE you need to add BLUE to red.

  • carolyn137
    9 years ago

    Sue, both Eva Purple Ball and Prudens Purple fruits have the same coloration as Brandywine ( pink) and nothing like Cherokee Purple.

    Carolyn

  • digdirt2
    9 years ago

    if someone who doesn't know the subtleties of tomato coloring, which I still struggle with sometimes, would consider these two "normal" or "odd" colored tomatoes.

    Yes they would consider them "normal". CP is NOT "normal" to folks like that but both these are.

    Dave

  • sue_ct
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Yay! Thank you Dave and Carolyn!