Yellow tomatoes are the exact same botanical fruit as red tomatoes, just a different color. The reason why they are yellow instead of red is because they produce yellow pigments instead of red ones. What makes yellow tomatoes yellow is a high content of organic carotenoid pigments known as xanthophylls, the same ones found in yellow watermelon, yellow carrots and other yellow fruits and vegetables. Yellow tomatoes taste different from red ones, but are just as healthy and nutritious and an overall good food to eat.
Are yellow tomatoes unripe red ones?
No, yellow tomatoes are not unripe red ones. In fact, yellow and red tomatoes are two different types of tomato. Yellow tomatoes start out green and turn yellow when they are ripe, while red tomatoes start out green and turn red when they are ripe. This is a general misconception that vegetables must go from green to yellow to orange and finally red and it comes from the knowledge of some bell pepper varieties that change colors gradually as they ripen, going from green to yellow to red (emphasis on some). But tomatoes don’t go through such a succession of colors as they ripen.
What do yellow tomatoes look like?
Yellow tomatoes are a type of tomato with pale yellow to vivid yellow or golden yellow-apricot colored skin and yellow flesh and juice. There are actually a few dozen different yellow tomato varieties ranging in size, number of seed cavities, peel thickness, color and meat-to-juice ratio. There are yellow cherry tomatoes such as heirloom pear-shaped, yellow baby and yellow grape tomatoes.
There are also regular size and giant yellow tomatoes such as round or oblate yellow Brandywine tomatoes, pleated, ruffled or ribbed yellow Beefsteak tomatoes that look almost pumpkin-like, globe shaped yellow tomatoes flattened at the base such as Pork chop, and plum-shaped yellow bell tomatoes with more pulp than juice for making yellow tomato sauce and paste.
What do yellow tomatoes taste like?
Do yellow tomatoes taste different from red tomatoes? What exactly do they taste like? For the most part, yellow tomatoes are quite sweet and have little to no acidity which makes them taste even sweeter. Some varieties are known for their sweet taste which is attested by their very name: e.g. yellow honey bee tomatoes.
As a general rule, the more sunlight the tomatoes receive and the riper they are, the sweeter their taste and the better the flavor. Not fully ripe yellow tomatoes often taste somewhat tart. Red tomatoes, which are the default tomatoes everyone relates to in terms of taste, are less sweet, more flavorful and more acidic. As for texture, some varieties are meatier, like Brandywine beef yellow tomatoes or plum yellow tomatoes, whereas others are meaty and juicy, like cherry yellow tomatoes.
When are yellow tomatoes ripe?
How do you tell when yellow tomatoes are perfectly ripe and ready to eat? Yellow tomatoes are ripe when they are completely yellow, with no green whatsoever (or for variegated varieties such as the Hillbilly beefsteak yellow tomato, yellow with red stripes). The fruit should be relatively firm, but not hard, and at the same time soft, but not mushy.
But the best way to tell if your yellow tomatoes are ripe and ready to eat is to taste them: pick one tomato and, if it’s plain sweet and flavorful, then all the others that resemble it closely should be too. Leave the fruits growing in more shaded areas at least a couple more days on the plant to finish ripening and perfect their taste.
Why are tomatoes yellow?
What makes tomatoes yellow instead of red is a high content of organic yellow pigments. Yellow tomatoes get their color from naturally occurring yellow carotenoid pigments known as xanthophylls. The bulk of their color is owed to yellow xanthophyll pigments such as lutein and zeaxanthin.
Versus yellow tomatoes, red tomatoes get their color from a pink and red carotenoid pigment called lycopene. But they are both the exact same botanical fruit. Actually, both tomato colors start out green and, unless you know the variety in advance, you can’t tell which is which when they are unripe.
Also find out what are green tomatoes.
Are yellow tomatoes genetically modified?
Tomatoes naturally turn red or pink red when they are ripe. It’s in their genes to produce a pink-red pigment called lycopene as they ripen. But that doesn’t automatically mean that yellow tomatoes are genetically modified just because they are yellow instead of red. No. Yellow tomatoes are, in fact, naturally occurring, not GMO.
What happened was that, at some point in their evolution, some tomato specimens suffered a mutation that caused the genes that normally make tomatoes turn red when ripe to become recessive. That caused tomatoes to not turn red anymore when ripe.
When the red color genes became recessive, other genes took over and made the tomatoes turn yellow instead of red – the same thing happened with yellow raspberries. And because people liked the novelty color, yellow tomatoes were eagerly picked up for cultivation.
Unlike yellow tomatoes, black tomatoes are genetically modified. Find out more about what are black tomatoes and where they color comes from. Vs yellow and black tomatoes, varieties of blue tomato are available as both a GMO and a non-GMO food.
Find out more about what are blue tomatoes and where they come from.
Uses for yellow tomatoes
What are the best uses for yellow tomatoes? Can you eat yellow tomatoes raw? Are they best cooked? Can yellow tomatoes be canned? Can you make tomato juice from yellow tomatoes?
You can use yellow tomatoes in the exact same way as you would red and other colors. That is, eat them raw, cook them and make yellow tomato sauce, salsa, soup, stew, vegetable spreads and even yellow tomato jam and yellow tomato juice. Yellow tomatoes are great canned and even pickled and just as healthy as red and other colors.
