Or have cherry tomatoes got bigger and blander?

[EnchantedAutumn]

I have been searching for the tiny, almost marble sized cherry tomatoes for a few years now but to no avail. The last provider to my knowledge was the Co Op, which also used these juicy little beauties on their fresh pizza in store - the most delicious little tomatoes I have tasted in a long time.
Unfortunately I have watched this product alter over the past 12 months, growing larger, more insipid, and less 'pop-in-the-mouth' delicious.

Brand doesn't seem to matter, even Wholegood/Natura, etc, are the same.
Organic on the vine seem to be getting larger and furrier, including M&S, Booths, Tesco....they are all more akin to regular tomatoes, so less tasty on the whole. Is it just me or has something changed?

I wondered if they have been modified perhaps to look larger to impress the consumer, which kind of makes no sense, since surely a consumer would only buy cherry tomatoes if they actually wanted the wee ones?

The taste too has changed, as the cherry tomatoes, as well as growing larger, are less flavoursome.

I miss them so!

Have you ever thought about growing them?

There are some varieties which work really well on windowsills, if you don't have any outside space.
for example 'hundreds and thousands' - see https://www.simplyseed.co.uk/tomato-seeds/tomato-hundreds-and-thousands.html - tiny little tomatoes which are v tasty, and grow prolifically- they'll keep fruiting till at least November (and maybe later depending on how much heat & light they get)

You could collect some seeds from a few tomatoes each year and keep growing more - and never have to rely on a supermarket again!

I bought some tiny vine tomatoes in Lidl last week called "Marvellous tomatoes" and they were as you described, full of proper sweet tomato flavour. Delicious. Can all small tomatoes be called cherry tomatoes?

I think it’s partly the time of year. I like the tiny ones too, and buy them when they are around, but it’s a few weeks in the summer rather than year-round.

The rest of the year I don’t really bother getting them for just enjoying on their own - I buy cheaper tomatoes and mainly use them in cooking.

Maybe it’s like strawberries and big bland ones are easier to transport long distances. I only bother with berries in summer and only get locally grown too.

I think it's partly the time of year - everything will be grown under plastic and in artificially created environments. I try to avoid anything grown in the Netherlands and go for Spain or Morocco where there might at least be some winter sun.
But as @Longtimelurkerfinallyposts says, there's nothing as good as home grown toms - I always buy a few plants from the garden centre and put them in pots or bags in my tiny patio garden.

I buy picobella tomatoes on the vine from Tesco - they are much tastier than ordinary cherry tomatoes (though nothing like as good as the ones my dad used to grow!) But they vary widely in size - some packs are full of tiny ones, others have fewer much bigger ones, and the smaller ones do tend to taste better.

Our local Tesco do Piccolo cherry tomatoes grown at Thanet Earth ( Kent) and they are small and lovely .

I'm sure this is linked to being out of season. They're not going to taste good in the winter, wherever they're grown.

I find this with strawberries too. Dutch water bombs. It’s so disappointing. I just don’t buy them at this time of year.

Piccolo and sugardrop are both good supermarket varieties but in the summer I grow the hundreds and thousands mentioned in the first post, they have an amazing flavour. They produce a lot of tomatoes and are really easy to grow if you have a tiny bit of outdoor space. They need water and a bit of tomato feed, no need to pinch out. I personally think they sometimes need a bit of support to stop them trailing on the ground if you've planted in pots rather than hanging baskets. They go from seed to first fruit in 12 weeks and will continue to produce for 12 weeks if October isn't too cold.

I’ve just ordered some seeds thanks to your post. When should I plant please?

Thank you, I will definitely consider this when we have moved house!
I can't seem to find them anywhere at the moment, so yes it could be the time of year. Not worth buying online I've noticed!

Will check out the picobella.

I love the pomodorino baby plum tomatoes from Sainsbury's. They're almost always delicious.