A green tomato is an unripe one, right? A true tomato is perfectly spherical and a wishy washy red? Only if you only ever eat the Dutch hydoponic horrors and have never eaten a ‘real’ tomato in your life.

Well now the world’s first Mini Kumato® is available from Marks and Spencer stores. They sent us some to try and the flavour was great at all colour stages, a prickly sweetness that cried out to be used as a principal ingredient in salads, in couscous, in stews and of course, fried up with bacon and egg

Kumatos come from a ‘lost’ wild tomato plant, and developer Syngenta has spent the last ten year’s developing the Mini Kumato® specifically for UK tastes through traditional cross-breeding, to offer tomato fans a new taste experience.

Unlike other tomatoes, the Mini Kumato® can be eaten at all stages of the ripening process, challenging the popular British view that ripe tomatoes must be ‘red’.

From a ‘dark green’ skin with a mild clean taste for slicing, the Mini Kumato transitions to a ‘dark brown’ skin with a sweet spicy aroma, ideal for salads and sandwiches, and finally to a ‘dark red’ skin with juiciness and round sweet notes best for cooking.

And in case you’re concerned, the Kumato is definitely not GM.

Dr. Ian Puddephat, Syngenta sensory scientist, who helped develop the Mini Kumato® says:
‘While Continental Europeans and Americans have eaten multi-coloured tomatoes for years, British consumers have traditionally only bought red. Our research reveals that the British palette has now ‘ripened’ and the UK shopper is ready to try new things.”
‘Our Mini Kumato® is a multi-coloured intense taste sensation that will challenge the British misconception that only ‘red’ tomatoes are ripe, tasty and ready to eat.”

The Mini Kumato® is grown in Lancashire where the climate is mild enough to grow the seeds, due to the warm gulfstream passing the Irish Sea.

A 275g pack of Mini Kumato tomatoes from Marks and Spencer costs £2.49.