180+ Shockingly Dark “Black” Tomatoes for Your Garden!
Contrary to popular belief, black tomatoes aren’t that uncommon. In fact, various heirloom varieties can be found all over the world!
Tomato cultivars and varieties that naturally produce dark brown or black fruits are
- 1884 Purple
- Abraham Brown Tomato
- Afternoon Delight Tomato
- Alices Dream Tomato
- Amazon Chocolate
- Ananas Bleue
- Ananas Noire
- Atomic Sunset
- Aurora Blue
- Aussie Drop
- Bayou Dusk
- Big Cheef
- Black
- Black & Brown Boar
- Black Beauty
- Black Cherry
- Black Crimson
- Black Ethiopian
- Black From Tula
- Black Icicle
- Black Krim
- Black Mammoth
- Black Mauri
- Black Opal
- Black Pearl
- Black Pear
- Black Plum
- Black Prince
- Black Russian
- Black Sea Man
- Black Strawberry
- Black Velvet
- Black Zebra
- Blood Gulch
- Blue Beauty
- Blue Berries
- Blue Bling’s
- Blue Chocolate
- Blue Fire
- Blue Goldberrry
- Blue Keyes
- Blue Pear
- Blue Sun
- Boronia Dwarf
- Bounty’s Best
- Brad’s Atomic Grape
- Brad’s Black Heart
- BrandyFred
- BrandyFred Dwarf
- Brandywine Black
- Brown Berry
- Bundaberg Rumball
- Candyhearts
- Cappuccino
- Carbon
- Carol Chyko’s Big Paste Black
- Chef’s Choice Black
- Cherokee Chocolate
- Cherokee Purple
- Chestnut Chocolate
- Chocolate
- Chocolate Champion
- Chocolate Cherry
- Chocolate Lightning
- Chocolate Pear
- Chocolate Sprinkles
- Chocolate Stripes
- Chocolate Wonder
- Christmas Purple Grapes
- Cosmic Eclipse
- Cosmos
- Cream
- Crème Brulee
- Crushed Heart
- Cuban Pepper Like Black
- D. Steel
- Dancing With Smurfs
- Deaton’s Dwarf
- Dark Galaxy
- Dark Striped Sweetheart
- Dark Tiger
- De Barao Black
- Dice’s Mystery Black
- Dirty Curty
- Dwarf Andy’s Forty
- Dwarf Audrey’s Love
- Dwarf Black Angus
- Dwarf Crimson Sockeye
- Dwarf Mahogany
- Dwarf Purple Heart
- Dwarf Purple Reign
- Dwarf Shadow Boxing
- Dwarf Striped Antho
- Dwarf Tiger Eye
- Dwarf Velvet Night
- Dwarf Wild Spudleaf
- Eva Purple Ball
- Evan’s Purple Pear
- Fioletovyi Kruglyi
- Flander’s Contrast
- Fred’s Tie Dye Dwarf
- Gargamel
- Garnet
- Gold Berries
- Golden Tiger
- Golova Negra
- Great Blue
- Great White Blues
- Gum Drop Black
- Gypsy
- H34 ROT-Jolie Coeur
- Haley’s Purple Comet
- Helsing Junction Blue
- Hershey Boar
- Indian Stripe
- Indian Zebra
- Indigo Apple
- Indigo Rose
- Indische Fleisch
- Inkspot
- Jackie
- Japanese Trifele Black
- Kaleidoscope Jewel
- Kangaroo Paw Brown
- KARMA Purple
- KARMA Purple Multiflora
- Kiss The Sky
- Kookaburra Cackle
- Lucid Gem
- Lush Lovely
- Maralinga
- Margaret Curtain
- Midnight Select
- Mikado Black
- Moonstone
- Moya Noire
- Nairobi Nights
- Negrillo de Almoguera
- Noir De Crimee
- Northern Elan
- Nyagous
- Orange Blue
- Owen’s Purple
- Paul Robeson
- Paul Robeson European
- Perth’s Pride Dwarf
- Pigletwillie’s French Black
- Polaris
- Pride of Flanders
- Primary Colors
- Pruden’s Purple
- Purple Bumble Bee
- Purple Calabash
- Purple Dragon
- Purple Light
- Purple Russian
- Purple Zebra
- Rebel Brother
- Red Beauty
- Reinhard Kraft’s Purple Heart
- Rosella Purple
- Sart Roloise
- Schwarze Sarah
- Sgt Pepper’s
- Sinister Minister
- Sleeping Lady
- South African Black Mystery
- Southern Night
- Spudatula Black
- Stormin’ Norman
- Stripes Of Yore
- Sunchocola
- Tartufo
- Tar Tops
- Tasmanian Chocolate
- Thunder Mountain
- Tim’s Black Ruffles
- True Black Brandywine
- Tsungshigo Chinese
- Uluru Ochre
- Ussuri Tiger
- Varsovia
- Vorlon
- Woolly Kate
- Yellow Dragon
You’re probably wondering why this is possible, so let me tell you how!
What Makes Black Tomatoes so Dark?
Black tomatoes aren’t actually completely black. Rather, they are typically super dark red, purple, and blue varieties.
The fruits of so-called black tomatoes are produced by high amounts of anthocyanins, a natural plant pigment that results in varying shades of purples, reds, and blues. Due to this, cultivars and varieties of black tomato plants are sometimes called antho tomatoes too!
Also, not all black tomato plants produce completely black fruits. For the most part, black tomatoes are only dark around their shoulders or top halves.
Others may also be on the lighter side, having shades closer to chocolate brown.
But if you want a darker black tomato at home, make sure to give your plant plenty of full sun exposure—as much as you can within a day!
Honestly, though, I find the bi-colored and multi-colored black tomatoes more stunning. The striking contrast in their colors makes them all the more gorgeous.
Purple Calabach tomatoes, for example, can have very dark skin and bright orange flesh!
The Different Shapes and Sizes of Black Tomatoes
Common shapes of black tomatoes include grape, cherry, pear, plum, round, flattened globe, and also beefsteak.
The tiniest black tomatoes include Chocolate Cherry and Black tomatoes, which are 0.5–0.6 oz (14–17 g) per fruit.
Others, such as Black Mauri, Black Plum, and Black Zebra tomatoes weigh about 2–4 oz (55–110 g).
Bigger black tomatoes can grow as big as 10–16 oz (280–450 g). This includes popular black tomato varieties including Paul Robeson, Brandywine Black, Black Sea Man, Cherokee Chocolate, and Chocolate Stripes flattened globe.
How Big Does a Black Tomato Plant Grow?
Black tomato plants are predominantly indeterminate, growing about 6–8 ft (1.8–2.4 m) each. Such vining tomatoes include Paul Robeson, Black Zebra, and Black Plum.
Only a few black tomato varieties are determinate such as the Blakc See Man which grows to just about 4 ft (1.2 m).
You’ll also notice that most black tomatoes are heirloom varieties.
Simply put, the great majority of black tomatoes weren’t specifically bred to produce red fruits.
Instead, they were produced naturally, with factors such as sunlight, resulting in darker colors.
I would also say that black tomatoes have some of the most unique flavor profiles. Black Russian tomatoes, for instance, taste surprisingly smoky and rich.
Are Blossom End Rot and Black Tomatoes the Same?
Be careful when looking for truly black tomatoes, such varieties should be partially—if not fully—black from their tops.
Meanwhile, fruits still on the vine that suddenly start turning black from the bottom are diseased tomatoes.
It starts out as a small black-brown spot before spreading out and affecting it more. This is a common sign of blossom end rot.
Sources
- “Tomato Varieties” by n/a in Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
- “Anthocyanidins and anthocyanins: colored pigments as food, pharmaceutical ingredients, and the potential health benefits” by Hock Eng Khoo et al. in the National Library of Medicine
