The effect that growing conditions has on the taste of each variety - it differs from garden to garden - in general the cherry varieties are often the sweetest simply because the flavor is concentrated in a small package.

Of the slicer varieties it will be those with the highest brix rating. Persimmon is one that comes to mind as is Brandywine Yellow.

But regardless of the variety, sweetness is a personal taste buds issue. What is sweet to one person can easily be acidic tasting to another.

Dave

Just read a report of USDA research project that indicates a high correlation between sensory panel sweetness and acidity to flavor in tomato taste. Both attributes are easily measured in a lab. Watch for more future charts with these 2 attributes being rated. IMO it seems as though within a variety the fastest ripening fruits seem sweeter. In this Fall weather the fruits from the same plants just are a little lacking.

Taste is personal and perceptual and even has a human genetic influence as well.

There are many variables the enter into taste, including the weather in any given season, how the plants are grown, as to sprawling, staking, caging, etc, what the soil is like, what amendments were used and if so which ones and how much.

If you look at any ONE variety listed in the SSE Yearbooks you'll usually see a range of comments having to do with taste.

I can say that this or that variety tastes sweet, and some others can detect no sweetness at all with that variety..

The only way to know if a variety has sweet fruits is to grow the variety itself using the conditions that exist where you are as to all the variables I mentiooned.

Not even a high Brix ( soluable sugar content) is a definitive indication of how sweet a variety is to all that grow that variety, again, b'c of all the other variables.

Hope that helps,

Carolyn

Sweetness of tomatoes is relative. Unless somebody does an analysis and determines the amount of it. But even being relative, personal taste etc, there is a certain common sense determination.
So then, I BELIEVE, that there are sweet tomatoes that almost everybody would agree and vice verse. Cherry and yellow ones I have found to be sweeter, in general.

What does make a tomato sweet ? It is a complex issue to me. But generally I think the genetics is the number one factor. Then we rarely eat tomato off the wine. We often add, vinegar, salt, pepper, oil to it. You like it sweet ? sprinkle a pinch of sugar on it , instead of vinegar.
I personally, like a naturally sweet n sour juice dripping tomato.

Does anyone know of an online source that lists Brix values of a lot of tomatoes? I'm thinking it might be helpful to know the Brix values of varieties I like so I could look for others with similar values to try. Or is brix only a minor part of the taste?

As far as I know Brix values have only been advertised for a limited number of tomato varieties. Acidity value charts are more common.

As I mentioned previously, the high correlation of flavor to just those 2 attributes (among thousands) should set the stage to more widespread testing and future charts. While I agree that different people perceive flavor differently and that many variables are indicated there is high probability that tomato flavor will be vastly improved in future hybrids as it has been to a limited degree in the past.

What kind of tomatoes taste sweet?

Most hearts and bi-colors that I've trialed are sweet, to me. More so than any other "kind" of tomato (cherries, globes, beefsteaks, etc...), although many of those kinds can also be sweet.

Gary

The sweetest non-cherry tomatoes I have grown were German Orange Strawberry, Kellogg's Breakfast and Pineapple.

I've heard the bi-colors and orange tomatoes are the sweetest,so next year I am going to grow several more varieties. We only like the sweet tomatoes for our sandwiches:)

Lori, just noting that the correct name is Orange Strawberry, not German Orange Strawberry.

I was sent seeds for Orange Strawberry, which appeared as a stray seed in a pack of the tomato variety Pineapple.

The same person had also sent me seeds for what she named German Red Strawberry, which was a family heirloom and was from Germany.

Someone somewhere decided that Orange Strawberry was also from Germany and changed the original name.

Not good.

Link below and Carolyn no longer lives in Latham,just as Dorothy no longer lives in Kansas.LOL

Carolyn

Here is a link that might be useful: Orange Strawberry

I had one called Bull's Heart from a trade that was
sweet and delicious. I also grew Italian Heirloom
this summer which had some sweetness to it. Very
good tomato.

Thanks for the info Carolyn!

JCT,

I was just scrolling through a massive list of tomatoes and when I check-marked "heart" for tomato shape, several of them listed them as "sweet" tasting! Here's a link:

http://tatianastomatobase.com/seed-catalog/html/

I think it's good to remember that if someone says a varity is sweet, it was for that person in that season, and maybe more seasons depending on where the person lives and gardens and all the other variables that go into determining taste, of which the genes that a variety has are most important.

Below I've given a clickable list of just heart ones which one can get off the first page of Tania's data base, as well as lists for different shapes, colors, and so much more.

As I think I've said before the only way someone will know if a variety is sweet is for that person to grow it.

I thought I'd listed some heart varieties that I thought were sweet but I guess I didn't. Again,it would be just me making a list as to what I personally thought was sweet.

Carolyn

Here is a link that might be useful: Heart Shaped Varieties

Certainly all the observations about differing taste buds and growing conditions are valid, but in my experience so is the advice that heart-types and red/yellow varieties tend to be more sweet tasting. (Ignoring cherries and red pear types, which seem inherently sweet.)

Growing in very different parts of the country, and much preferring sweetness over acidity, I've always found Pink Girl, Lemon Boy, Clear Pink Early, and Pineapple to be larger tomatoes that deliver the sort of sweet taste I like. Your taste buds may differ, but I think any of these might be worth trying.

Aside from the personal taste/palate and the subjectivity issue, I think there are many tomatoes that can be labeled as "sweet" to MAJORITY of people. Everybody can tell the difference between a sweet and acidic tomato. Soil, weather and other growing conditions can also influence the genetics to some degree.
JMO.