Naturefresh Spotlight: The Tomberry Tomato

“The Tomberry® Tomato was discovered here in the Netherlands by a hobby Tomato seeds collector in 2005. He had over 500 different varieties in a small greenhouse, and one day, I visited him and saw these tiny pearl Tomatoes on a bushel. I took a small bushel back to the office to show my coworkers, but no one was in, so I left them on my desk until the next day. In the morning, I announced my idea to sell these tiny pearl Tomatoes by the bushel – I picked up the bushel to show everyone, and all the tiny Tomatoes fell off the plant! At that moment, the idea of the ‘sprinkle’ Tomato, from then-on named the Tomberry®, was born.”

Eminent Seeds, a Netherlands-based seed development company, conducted trials with the Tomberry® seed for many years after this discovery. They worked to perfect their growing techniques to yield the best possible fruit from the plant; they wanted to ensure the variety could successfully grow in a greenhouse environment at a commercial scale. Once Eminent Seeds perfected the Tomberry®, they introduced it to our team at NatureFresh™!

In 2017, our Research and Development team began trialing the Tomberry® in Leamington, Ontario. After just one year in our Discovery Center’s trial greenhouse, we decided to take the Tomberry® Tomato to market! And we haven’t looked back since.

What makes the tomberry tomato so special

There are many things that make the Tomberry® Tomato incredibly unique.

Size

This is one of the most unique features of the Tomberry®. Hailed as the World’s Smallest Tomato, it measures approximately 0.5 to 1 centimeter in diameter, and weighs only 1 to 2 grams. It may be petit, but the Tomberry® is still packed full of juicy flavor, as well as all the nutritional value that you expect from your Tomatoes!

How it grows

We have noticed the Tomberry® plant grows similarly to wild berry or grape plants – it grows the fruit in bushels! This is very different from most Tomatoes, which usually grow in neat clusters on a vine. With this type of growing, Tomberry® plants require a lot more foliage control – these tiny Tomatoes are tough to tame (try saying that five times fast)!

Harvesting

Since so many Tomatoes grow on one bushel, some serious innovation was needed to come up with a more efficient method of harvesting. After a lot of trailing, Eminent Seeds discovered that the easiest way to harvest the Tomberry® is by cutting off an entire bushel, leaves and all, and letting it dry out. Once the leaves and stem are completely dry, we can simply shake off our tiny Tomatoes, pack them up, and ship them to a grocery store near you!

There’s no doubt about it – the Tomberry® is one special Tomato variety!

Versatile,Easy to Eat, & OH-SO Delicious!

Tomberry® Tomatoes are also incredibly versatile – we would argue that there are more ways to eat a Tomberry® than any other Tomato variety out there!

As with Cherry or Grape Tomatoes, a handful of Tomberry® Tomatoes make a colorful lunchbox snack that takes about 10 seconds to pack. They’re easy to eat on-the-go, at the park, on a hike, or during a long car ride – whatever you’re up to, Tomberry® Tomatoes will make the perfect healthy snack option!

When it comes to cutting down time spent on meal prep, the Tomberry® should be everyone’s go-to. With no slicing to slow you down, it is effortless to use Tomberry® Tomatoes in just about any dish. Here are some of our favorite recipes to make that much more delicious by adding a healthy helping of Tomberry® Tomatoes:

Add them raw to a salad – Spiralized Mini Cucumber Salad
Heat them up in a soup – Tortilla Soup
Give your pasta a pop – Shrimp Pasta
Sprinkle them on your pizza – Cherry Tomato Pizza
Add for garnish on tacos – Cheese-Shelled Tacos & Salsa
Pan-fry with your fish – Grecian Tomato Salmon

And did we mention that these tiny Tomatoes are also delicious in desserts? Stay tuned for some Tomberry®-inspired recipes to satisfy your sweet tooth (while still getting your daily dose of lycopene)!

Eaten raw or heated up, it’s clear that the options for preparing Tomberry® Tomatoes are endless. No matter how you eat them, Tomberry® Tomatoes will satisfy any and every Tomato lover!