An old Cherokee Indian heirloom, pre-1890 variety; beautiful, deep, dusky purple-pink color, superb sweet flavor, and very-large-sized fruit. Try this one for real old-time tomato flavor.
"Craig LeHoullier says in his book that there is no way to confirm the version that the Cherokee Purple seeds were sourced from the Indians, though yes, he got the seeds from Mr. JD Green, who in turn got them from a neighbor and the neighbor supposedly from an old Indian. Cherokee Chocolate Craig discovered himself, in his field, although Cherokee purple has been grown many times, this time he noticed that the fruits of one plant ripen in a different shade.The unique coincidence is that, thanks to his attention, he discovered and preserved that tomato, hoping that it was a true mutation that turned the transparent skin yellow, and that way, the offspring would inherit it as well. That's what happened. And with Cherokee green, an even more interesting event: one tomato enthusiast who got cherokee purple seeds from Craig admired their taste very much, grew them for several years and for some reason sent back their preserved seeds, and Craig sowed them out of interest. Again, as the tomatoes ripened, he noticed that one plant did not ripen in any way, so it remained yellowish green, although when cut, it appeared ripe and had an identical cherokee purple smell and taste. And again, the real mutation appeared and was repeated in all offspring ... in the true sense, Craig LeHoullier did not create those varieties, they were proposed by nature itself, and man, through his curiosity and attention, selected and preserved them. Here is the genius of the old breed (heirloom) .."