Roma VF vs San Marzano
The sauce question: the American workhorse against the Italian standard.
| Roma VF | San Marzano | |
|---|---|---|
| Breeding | Open-pollinated | Heirloom |
| Growth habit | Determinate | Indeterminate |
| Days to maturity | 73-80 | 78-85 |
| Fruit color | red | red |
| Fruit size class | plum | plum |
| Typical weight | - | - |
| Primary uses | sauce, paste, canning | sauce, paste, canning |
| Introduced | 1955 | - |
| Documented resistances | 2 | 0 |
| Saves true from seed | Yes | Yes |
Disease resistance
Roma VF
San Marzano
No documented resistance, typical of older open-pollinated varieties.
Traits
Both: Open-Pollinated, Red, Plum / Paste, Mid Season, Sauce & Paste
Only Roma VF
- Determinate
Only San Marzano
- Heirloom
- Indeterminate
Origins
Roma VF
The USDA-bred paste tomato that became a supermarket generic. Released from the Beltsville program in the 1950s, with the VF re-selection adding fusarium and verticillium resistance, one of the earliest mainstream examples of resistance breeding in a home-garden variety.
San Marzano
The Italian paste standard from the volcanic plain below Vesuvius, where the true DOP-protected canning tomato is still grown. Long, blocky, low-seed fruit that defined what sauce tomatoes should be.
More: all comparisons · every tomato variety · filter the full database
Sources & References
Evidence: 4 sources, including 2 independent references.
- Vegetable Varieties for Gardeners · Cornell University Cooperative Extension, University or Government
- Tomato Growers Supply catalog · Tomato Growers Supply Company, Seed Catalog
- Vegetable MD Online · Cornell University, Plant Pathology, University or Government
- Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds catalog · Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co., Seed Catalog