San Marzano vs Amish Paste
Two paste heirlooms with different flesh, different sauces.
| San Marzano | Amish Paste | |
|---|---|---|
| Breeding | Heirloom | Heirloom |
| Growth habit | Indeterminate | Indeterminate |
| Days to maturity | 78-85 | 80-85 |
| Fruit color | red | red |
| Fruit size class | plum | plum |
| Typical weight | - | 6-8 oz |
| Primary uses | sauce, paste, canning | sauce, paste, canning |
| Introduced | - | - |
| Documented resistances | 0 | 0 |
| Saves true from seed | Yes | Yes |
Measured against each other
These two have never been grown in the same trial AMSeed holds. Every difference in the table above is a difference between what each variety's own sources say about it, which is not the same as a difference between the varieties. Two catalogs counting days from different starting points, or reporting fruit weight from different seasons and soils, can differ by more than the seed does.
Where head-to-head measurements do exist: the trial record · what else we do not know
Disease resistance
San Marzano
No documented resistance, typical of older open-pollinated varieties.
Amish Paste
No documented resistance, typical of older open-pollinated varieties.
Traits
Both: Heirloom, Open-Pollinated, Indeterminate, Red, Plum / Paste, Sauce & Paste
Only San Marzano
- Mid Season
Only Amish Paste
- Late Season
Origins
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.
Amish Paste
An Amish heirloom traced to Wisconsin, carried into wide circulation through Seed Savers Exchange. Larger and juicier than Roma types, an all-purpose paste tomato good enough to eat fresh.
More: all comparisons · every tomato variety · filter the full database
Sources & References
Evidence: 4 sources, 2 seed catalogs and 2 community collections. No independent reference documents this yet.
- Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds catalog · Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co., Seed Catalog
- Tomato Growers Supply catalog · Tomato Growers Supply Company, Seed Catalog
- Vegetable Varieties for Gardeners · Cornell University Cooperative Extension, Community Collection
- Seed Savers Exchange catalog & variety histories · Seed Savers Exchange, Community Collection