Canestrino di Lucca is a great-tasting heirloom tomato from the province of Lucca in Tuscany, Italy. It is a large pear-shaped tomato, with some ribbing, that is famous for its productivity and flavourful, sweet taste. This Italian heirloom did great in our Zone 4 garden. The healthy plants were about 5 ft (150 cm) tall. The tomatoes mainly ranged in size from 150 g to 250 g.
This versatile tomato is meaty and sweet – and lends itself both to fresh eating in salads and cooked in sauces.
The Canestrino di Lucca tomato is listed on the Slow Food Ark of Taste. Here is a blurb from the website:
The Canestrino tomato has long been cultivated in family kitchen gardens around Lucca. Consumed at home or sold locally in the city’s markets, like the one in Piazza del Carmine, the tomato was once greatly appreciated and commanded higher prices than other varieties. Every family jealously guarded their own seeds, and due to the lack of standardized selection techniques, this practice ensured good genetic variability. At the end of the 1960s, the Canestrino was still very common, and even offered by some local seed companies, but then, with the arrival of hybrid ribbed varieties, it was gradually abandoned.
The variety has thin skin and its flesh is soft but dense, not very watery and with few seeds. The size varies greatly: The fruits generally weigh between 150 and 200 grams, but can grow as heavy as 300 grams. Their flavor is sweet, due to the high sugar content and low acidity. The ripe tomatoes are excellent in salad, thanks to their heady fragrance, intense flavor and dense consistency, but the low water content means they are also good in fresh sauces and for canning.
This is an all around fantastic Italian tomato.
Our original seed source was a seed saving organization in Italy.
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How to Grow Tomatoes? Start seeds indoors 6 weeks before the last frost. Plant seed 5mm (¼ inch) deep. Transplant after the danger of frost has passed/later spring.
