This is the latest in a series of posts that I’ve done about my favorite varieties of fruits, vegetables and herbs we grow at Happy Acres. To see my other Spotlights, and those from other garden bloggers, visit the Variety Spotlights page.
Today’s Spotlight is on a tomato that is sort of difficult to categorize. It’s too big to be called a grape tomato, and not quite as big as a Roma. Some catalogs call it a ‘baby Roma’ type, while others call it a Romanita or Saladette type. Whatever label you choose, Golden Rave is a golden yellow hybrid tomato I’ve been growing for almost ten years now.
Golden Rave paste tomatoes
Golden Rave has been a dependable and prolific performer for me ever since I started growing it. In my garden, the indeterminate vines quickly reach to the top of my five foot tomato cages and start spilling over, so sturdy cages or stakes are recommended. The vines usually keep producing over a long period, and according to the breeder (Sakata Seed) they are resistant to Fusarium wilt and TMV.
Golden Rave tomato
Most catalog descriptions say Golden Rave fruits get about 2″ long and weigh between 1-2 ounces, which matches my experiences growing them. And while they do resist cracking, they aren’t totally immune to it. That said, they have held up very well this year with our above average rainfall that has wreaked havoc on many of the tomato varieties I grow.
recent harvest of Golden Rave tomatoes
Golden Rave has more flavor than most paste tomatoes, though the flavor is mild like many yellow tomatoes. It also is a bit more juicy than most paste tomatoes. I know a lot of people will be thinking “what do you do with a yellow paste tomato?” My answer is “anything you do with a red paste tomato.” But since Golden Rave is not exactly a paste tomato, you do have a few more options.
Golden Rave tomato on pizza
Golden Rave makes a colorful addition to salsas and salads. And it made a recent appearance here atop a Pizza Margherita. I always freeze some for later use in soups and stews. You can use it to make a yellow colored sauce, but I usually mix it in with red tomatoes for sauces and pureed tomatoes. I also dehydrate Golden Rave, and it is tasty when Slow Roasted.
I hope you have enjoyed this spotlight on a tomato variety that has become one of my most dependable performers. Seeds for Golden Rave are widely available in the U.S. I’ll be back soon with another variety.
I remember one year I had so many sungold tomatoes that I turned them into sauce. I thought the yellow orange sauce was quite pretty, though definitely not traditional. It was also too sweet for a sauce, so I used it for cajun cooking where the sweet would be an advantage.
That’s an intriguing little tomato. Does it have any acidity? I usually find yellow tomatoes to be bland because they aren’t tangy enough for my taste, at least for fresh eating. That doesn’t mean they aren’t bad cooked though. Ten years in your garden is quite an endorsement!
I would call them low acid. I usually mix them with other tomatoes for fresh use in salsas, etc.
Those are some beauty tomatoes! I was going to say the exact same thing as Margaret – if you have been growing them for 10 years, they must be very good.
Those are so pretty & they do seem like a good roasting tomato. Like Daphne, I prefer tomatoes that are on the less sweet side when it comes to roasting.
Your intro sentence sounded like you were describing Juliet, which really surprised me with how small they were as they are often referred to as a paste tomato.
Golden Rave is a bit bigger than Juliet, but similar in growth habit. I think GR has perhaps more flavor than Juliet.
Thank you for mentioning Golden Rave, turned out to be my favorite tomato so far this year. Definitely a keeper.
Elizabeth, I am glad you like them! They are doing well for me this year too.