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Conventional wisdom says they've been bred for resiliency, predictable ripening, long lasting. Not flavor.

One clue is, the gene that ripens tomatoes is also the one that causes the skin to split. So the seeds get spread. But not useful for commercial use, as split tomatoes are worthless to sell. So they use varieties that don't express that gene. So they don't ripen much. So they are tasteless, no matter how long on the vine.

Definitely grow your own, if you care about tomatoes at all and have the room@!



It's not just conventional wisdom, there have been genetic studies: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1222218

A mutation of the SlGLK2 gene results in significantly less sugar in the fruit while slowing down ripening for transport.




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