Ugly Ripe™ FAQ
What is an UglyRipe™?
An UglyRipe™ is an heirloom variety beefsteak-style tomato that takes its name because it's misshapen and has a concave stem and rigid shoulders. The UqlyRipe™ is derived from the "Marmonde" variety heirloom. Originally grown in France, it was crossed only twice, once with a variety to produce plant strength, and again for disease resistance.
What is an heirloom tomato?
Although there is no standard definition for heirloom, most experts describe heirlooms as being passed down through several generations of a family because of its best characteristics. They are soft tomatoes with limited shelf life and fall into four major categories: commercial, family, created, and mystery. Commercial heirlooms are open-pollinated varieties introduced before 1940. Family heirlooms come from seeds passed down over several generations. Created heirlooms come from crossing two known parents-either two heirlooms or an heirloom and a hybrid-and then dehybridizing the seeds for as long as it takes to get rid of the negative characteristics and keep the positive ones. The fourth category is the mystery heirloom, which is a product of natural cross-pollination of other heirloom varieties. All heirloom varieties are open pollinated, but not all open-pollinated varieties are heirlooms. Heirlooms are not hybrid tomatoes that are grown for commercial purposes. Hybrids tend to lose both flavor and color after several generations of breeding (This and more information can be found in the November 2003 Florida Grower Magazine article "Heirloom Tomatoes Offer Opportunities").
Why are UglyRipes more expensive than other Florida Tomatoes?
UglyRipes are a much more labor-intensive product to produce than the typical Florida round tomato. While machines can be used to process and package Florida rounds, UglyRipes must be picked by hand at the peak of ripeness and, because of the possibility of bruising, they are hand-packed into individual "spongy" sleeves and labeled with their own PLU #3423. Even though the extra labor and care translates into a higher price tag, consumers don't seem to mind paying more for a tastier product: from 1999 to 2003 when the UglyRipe™ was available during the winter to consumers in northern states, the tomato became wildly popular and acreage dedicated to the tomato grew from 10 to about 300.
Will I see UglyRipes in my grocery store this winter?
To a large extent, that depends on the decisions of the Florida Tomato Committee. However, some UglyRipes are being grown in greenhouses in Mexico this winter, and will make their way to the U.S. Consider yourself lucky if you find them!
What is the Florida Tomato Committee and what powers do they have?
During the winter, a group of growers, known as the Florida Tomato Committee (FTC), regulates what tomatoes can and cannot be shipped outside of the state. The FTC, which was established in 1955 under Federal Marketing Order No. 966, annually regulates the Florida fresh tomato industry South and East of the Suwannee River from October 10 through June 15 based on standards pertaining to the size and shape of round tomatoes. Cherry tomatoes, Roma tomatoes, and greenhouse beefsteak tomatoes are exempt to these standards because they aren't bred to be large and/or round. UglyRipes aren't bred to be perfectly round, but the FTC still classifies it as a Florida Round Tomato, so most can't pass through inspection. Taste plays no role in the standards the FTC has set.
I used to buy UglyRipes regularly at my local grocery store, but haven't seen them in stock lately. What happened?
For three years beginning in 1999 the FTC exempted the UglyRipe™ from the standards of Florida round tomatoes and allowed the heirloom variety to be shipped outside the state of Florida, which was probably when you saw them regularly at your local grocery store. Since the UglyRipes were gaining so much popularity with northerners during the winter months, last year the growers of Uglyripes planted their biggest crop to date-- nearly 700 acres. After the 2003-2004 crop of Uglyripes were already in the ground, the FTC refused to allow the product to be sold outside of Florida, resulting in millions of pounds of tasty tomatoes wasted. UglyRipes are grown in other states, including New Jersey and North Carolina, during the summer and the shipment of tomatoes from Florida is only regulated by the FTC during the winter. During that time you may see UglyRipes at your local grocer. We typically find that better tasting tomatoes are in higher demand during the winter months, though!
The media is reporting that the Florida Tomato Committee has prohibited the shipment of UglyRipes outside of the state of Florida. Why is the FTC saying they haven't?
By holding the heirloom style UglyRipes to the same size and shape standards as the Florida round tomatoes (a completely different variety of tomato), the Florida Tomato Committee has created an environment that makes the shipment of UglyRipes out of the state of Florida unprofitable. Making the UglyRipe™ conform to the shape standard when it isn't meant to is like making the cherry tomato conform to the size standard for the Florida round tomato. The vast majority would be way too small to make grade, and we suspect no one would grow them. To be more specific, the Florida Tomato Committee says that 70 percent of UglyRipes meet their shipping standards. This 70 percent figure is misleading because the FTC is starting its measurement only after 50 to 60 percent of the UglyRipes are already thrown out because they don't meet the grower's own standards - there is much more waste in growing tasty heirlooms than in growing the Florida rounds. Basically, approximately 60 percent of the UglyRipe™ crop is thrown out in order to get to that 70 percent that are shippable and that the FTC quoted. Now the Florida Tomato Committee wants that percentage of graded, shippable UglyRipes upped to 90 percent. Given the approximate 60 percent that are already thrown out, this would force the grower to waste nearly 70 percent of the UglyRipe™ crops. Throwing out seven tomatoes in order to save three round ones simply doesn't make good business sense. And the Florida Tomato Committee knows better. I don't want a committee telling me what kind of tomato I want. How can I protest the restrictions on UglyRipes? If you'd like to voice your opinion to the Florida Tomato Committee you can e-mail them at info@floridatomatoes.org or write to them at: Florida Tomato Committee, 800 Trafalgar Court, Suite 300, Maitland, FL 32751. You can also help by writing the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250. Also you can help by contacting your Member of Congress to ask that the U.S.D.A Marketing Order no longer apply to the Uglyripes. You can get contact information regarding your Member of Congress from http://www.house.gov and your Senators from http://www.senate.gov.