The beefsteak tomato, a massive tomato ideal for baking

Heart-shaped and clearly XXL, the ‘Beefsteak’ tomato hides soft, melty flesh with very few seeds behind a smooth skin, and tastes light and sweet. Italian in origin, it is the tomato to stuff and bake, or to slice into salads, soup and gazpacho, provided you give it the sturdy staking it demands.

If ever you’ve savored one before, you’ll immediately have the ‘Beefsteak’ tomato in mind: its striking features make it a memorable experience!

Origin and peculiarities

Though the original tomato comes from South America, the Beefsteak tomato hails to us from Italy. It has different names that are often confused: ‘Coeur de boeuf’ for the French, ‘Cuor di bue’ for the Italians; but these all have the same characteristics, the hallmarks of a very special tomato:

• a unique heart-like shape;
• juicy fruits with smooth skin and clearly XXL size;
• soft, melty flesh with very few seeds and a light, sweet taste.

• Fruits with thin, smooth skins, such as ripe figs, plums, and tomatoes, bruise and split easily, so handle them gently when picking, packing, and transporting them.
• Heavy watering after a dry spell makes the swelling fruit burst its skin, so keep the soil evenly moist rather than alternating drought and flood.

Planting ‘Beefsteak’ tomato

Sowing should be done in April, whereas the planting itself takes place at the beginning of May.

Sowing :

You’ll have to prepare for sowing a day ahead for Beefsteak tomatoes. Indeed, seeds need soaking for 24 hours to trigger germination. Once they’ve been thoroughly soaked, though, all you need to do is spread the seeds out on a blend of soil mix and sand.

When the sprouts have unfurled their two cotyledons (leaves), transplant them in individual nursery pots. For each planting step, you must make sure your crop is protected from late frosts. Once they’ve matured, you can transfer your plants to the growing bed.

• Read also: the proper way to sow tomatoes

Planting ‘beefsteak’ tomato:

The planting of a tomato plant is easy:

• dig a hole that’s deep enough (8 inches or 20 cm);
• slip the seedling inside, slanting it slightly;
• backfill to the point of burying the base of the stem up to the first few leaves;
• water abundantly without touching the foliage.

Care and growing

Here are the maintenance steps to get nice ‘Beefsteak’ tomatoes:

• regular watering directly at the base of the plant (take care not to get the leaves wet);
• mulch all around the plant to lock moisture underground;
• remove leaves (but not all of them) from your plants from the month of August onwards, to spur ripening of fruits.
• The ‘Beefsteak’ tomato is a variety that requires staking.

More to learn about growing tomato

Diseases and pests

The ‘Beefsteak’ tomato may attract bollworm moth caterpillars and whitefly. As regards diseases, ‘Beefsteak’ tomato doesn’t fare any better than other tomato varieties: it’s vulnerable to downy mildew.

‘Beefsteak’ tomato from seed to plate: the key stages

The ‘Beefsteak’ tomato follows a fairly strict calendar, from a sowing that has to be prepared a day in advance to the last fruits of autumn. Here is what happens when, and what each step asks of you.

Miss the April sowing and the whole sequence shifts, so the biggest fruits may not have time to ripen.

Which beefsteak variety to choose

“Beefsteak” covers a whole family of large-fruited tomatoes, from ribbed Italian types to smooth pink heirlooms and modern hybrids bred for reliability. The table below sets out the ones most often found on seed racks and in catalogues, so you can match colour, timing and growing space to your garden.

Harvest and keeping

You can expect to pick your first ‘Beefsteak’ tomatoes sometime mid-July, and the last ones hopefully up to mid-October. After picking, they will keep in the fridge for 5 to 6 days. However, if you really want to make the most of their vitamins and minerals, our recommendation is to eat them right after having picked them.

• Harvest heavy beefsteak tomatoes by cutting each fruit with secateurs, leaving a short piece of stalk attached, rather than tugging them free by hand, which risks damaging the fruit or the truss.
• Pick promptly after heavy rain: rapid water uptake often cracks swollen beefsteak fruits at the shoulders, and those open wounds can admit rot organisms, especially in warm, humid weather.

Cooking with ‘beefsteak’ tomato

‘Beefsteak’ can be cooked in several different manners. This is because its firm, rich-tasting flesh is perfect for tossed salads, gazpacho, soup, and even stuffing and baking.

To learn more, read:

• Gowing tomatoes
• Growing tomato in containers

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