News Genetics

Convenience shoulders tomato taste aside

Breeding for consistent color in unripe fruit may have diminished flavor

By Susan Milius

- More than 2 years ago

It looks like 70 years of breeding for better color in unripe fruit has inadvertently helped create the wet-paper towel flavor of the modern tomato.

GOING GREEN Whether an unripe tomato has a gene form that leads to uniform light shade (right) or a darker shade on top called shoulders (left) could have consequences for the fruit’s final flavor.