General Information
Red Brandywine tomatoes are large, plump beefsteak tomatoes with thin skin that is deep red in color. Their pulpy flesh is the same color as the skin, with a bouquet that has been likened to that of roses. Red Brandywine tomatoes are full-bodied and non-acidic, with an excellent, robust tomato flavor. The large, regular-leaf, indeterminate plants produce high yields of the eight to twelve-ounce fruit in clusters of four to six along vigorous vines with serrated leaves. Although the regular-leaved Red Brandywine is not technically a Brandywine, and is not genetically related to the original potato-leaved variety, the Red Brandywine certainly has the same outstanding flavor.
History
The authentic regular-leaf strain of Red Brandywine, named after Brandywine Creek in Chester County, Pennsylvania, was allegedly first listed in 1988. The variety came from Tom Hauch of Heirloom Seeds, who stated that this tomato originated with Chester County, Pennsylvania farmers in 1885. Other earlier listings of Red Brandywine appear to exist, however there is a belief that they were actually incorrect listings of the potato-leaved Pink Brandywine.
