A gardening nursery in Devon has become the first in the UK to grow black tomatoes. Plant World Seeds, located in the town of Newton Abbot, has a total of three plants, each containing 20 of the jet black tomatoes. The unusual fruit is among the first in the world to contain anthocyanins, an antioxidant thought to have a number of health benefits.
Nursery owner Ray Brown came across the rare produce when a customer sent him a mystery package entitled ‘black tomato’. The 66-year-old didn’t believe the label at first, so he decided to sow the product and was left stunned by the outcome.
“It was always something people thought was impossible, we thought it was a hoax,” he said. “But when we grew them we realised they were jet black, we were absolutely staggered.
“No one can quite believe what we’ve got, they keep asking if it’s a joke, or if they’re edible. They are edible, we’ve eaten lots, they have a nice taste and a really lovely flavour.”
The tomatoes are ripe when their colour changes from a shiny blue-purple to an almost jet black, with the bottoms of them turning red. Their unusual colour stems from pigments in the skin which develop when exposed to sunlight.
