Solanum lycopersicum ‘Amish Paste’ — The Heirloom Sauce Tomato | Deep Red Meaty Fruit, Unmatched Flavor

Description

For generations, Amish communities stewarded this special tomato, preserving it for its exceptional, complex flavor and reliable hardiness. You’re not just planting a vegetable—you’re inheriting 150 years of living history in seed form.

This heirloom was discovered in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, but originated in Wisconsin around 1870. It was introduced to the wider public by seed saver Tom Hauch and Seed Savers Exchange in the 1980s, and later included in Slow Food USA’s “Ark of Taste,” cementing its importance. What makes it legendary is the backstory: while commercial tomatoes have lost up to 50% of their flavor compounds over the last century, the Amish Paste has maintained its rich, complex flavor profile for over 150 years.

**THE REASON YOU NEED THIS TOMATO: It’s the One-Plant Solution for Every Kitchen**

This is where Amish Paste becomes irresistible. It is that rare tomato that is both a premier meaty paste variety and a juicy, complex slicer. With 30% less water content than slicing tomatoes, they reduce faster, requiring less cooking time to achieve thick, flavorful sauces with a balanced sweet-acid profile that creates depth without additional sugar. A single plant yields enough to produce 4–6 quarts of canned tomatoes.

But here’s the magic: despite being a paste tomato in name, its excellent eating qualities lend it to use as both a canning tomato and a slicer, with ideal juiciness for sandwiches—no soggy bread. Fresh-off-the-vine slicing? Absolutely. Roasted with herbs? Perfection. Blended into salsa? When diced, these tomatoes release minimal liquid, creating chunky, restaurant-quality salsas with firm texture that stands up to acidic elements and complements spicy ingredients beautifully. Their robust flavor withstands high-heat cooking methods, making them perfect for pasta dishes where tomato character should shine through—unlike store-bought varieties that disappear into dishes. They’re also excellent for dehydrating, yielding chewy, intensely flavored sun-dried tomatoes.

**How to Grow It: Surprisingly Straightforward**

These indeterminate plants produce good yields of 8-12 ounce plum-type tomatoes with brilliant red skins, and they’re acorn-shaped, thick-fleshed and nearly seedless. They perform best in full sun and fertile, well-drained soil with consistent moisture. This variety is easy to grow and produces large crops of flavorful tomatoes, and it does well in colder climates, making it ideal for northern gardens. The plants are vigorous and indeterminate, so they need support as they grow tall and heavy with fruit—but that’s not a burden, that’s a bounty. Start seeds indoors 6–8 weeks before the last expected frost date, then transplant outdoors after all danger of frost has passed. Harvest comes in 81–85 days after transplant.

**Grow This Heirloom, Taste the Difference**

When you plant Amish Paste from seed, you’re not just growing food—you’re participating in living food history and preserving biodiversity for future generations. These tomatoes demand to be tasted: their sweetness is the first characteristic that stands out, complemented by mild acidity, and they exhibit a rich tomato flavor that is earthy and slightly tart. In your garden, in your kitchen, on your table—this is the heirloom that reminds you why homegrown tastes like memory.