Franchi Seeds 1783 Tomato San Marzano Naples Seeds

Heritage variety.

Endangered - on the Slow Food 'Ark of Taste' 

T4 - a classic Italian plum tomato from Naples! It’s meaty, fragrant with few seeds & very little water inside - it’s great for cooking! They’re not like the mass-produced hybrids you’re used to seeing - these tomatoes are delicate with a thin skin and keep well after being preserved. Sauce made with these tomatoes literally sticks onto pasta and does not release any acidity. It’s commonly used in Passata, linked to Neapolitan pizza Margherita & used in traditional Neapolitan ragù!  

• Fruits weight: up to 70g - 80g
• Growing habit: Indeterminate (cordon)
• Approximate seeds quantity: @300
• Sow from: February to April
• Variety: Outdoor
  
  

Up to twenty years ago, the fertile territory around Naples and the sarnese-nocerino countryside was mainly farmed with San Marzano tomatoes. They were delicate with thin skin so needed to be handled with care. Due to diseases and high cultivation costs, more productive hybrids became widespread. Ones that were more resistant to diseases and more suitable for mechanized work, but with poorer quality and organoleptic properties. Canning companies started purchasing these hybrids, endangering indigenous San Marzano.

San Marzano tomatoes are grown like vines and are harvested seven, eight times or more from July to September, only when perfectly ripe and after sunset. After picking them up, the tomatoes are rinsed with water and put in the cans, then cooked for 13 minutes. Nothing else is needed: no additives, no preservatives. It will keep well for at least one year.