Lucca Canestrino Tomato

Also known as Cresputo or Costoluto, the Canestrino tomato has long been cultivated in family kitchen gardens around Lucca. Consumed at home or sold locally in the city’s markets, like the one in Piazza del Carmine, the tomato was once greatly appreciated and commanded higher prices than other varieties. Every family jealously guarded their own seeds, and due to the lack of standardized selection techniques, this practice ensured good genetic variability. At the end of the 1960s, the Canestrino was still very common, and even offered by some local seed companies, but then, with the arrival of hybrid ribbed varieties, it was gradually abandoned. Thanks to a few custodian-farmers who had passed down the seeds, the variety was saved, and in 2015 it was included in the register of biodiversity for the Tuscan region.
The name means “little basket,” but as well as its typical shape, the Canestrino can also be recognized by the green color at the top of the fruit, which remains even when fully ripe, and the small clefts just underneath where the stem is attached. These esthetic imperfections serve as a kind of trademark for the Canestrino. The tomato plants are fertilized only organically and no chemical weedkillers are used. The fruits are harvested in stages, from the end of May all the way through to late autumn.
The variety has thin skin and its flesh is soft but dense, not very watery and with few seeds. The size varies greatly: The fruits generally weigh between 150 and 200 grams, but can grow as heavy as 300 grams. Their flavor is sweet, due to the high sugar content and low acidity. The ripe tomatoes are excellent in salad, thanks to their heady fragrance, intense flavor and dense consistency, but the low water content means they are also good in fresh sauces and for canning.

Season

Tomatoes are picked between May and October