In looking for a high quality hybrid processing tomato, we found La Rossa to exceed all of the others in terms of flavor, texture, viscosity, productivity, earliness, and disease resistance. The thick skin and walls are meaty and quite dry, making the fruit easy to peel and process, whether for whole-pack canning or quick, thick sauce. Fresh robust tomato flavor, with a hint of sweetness. This is an excellent Italian paste type with a determinate vine so it doesn't need staking. Tomatoes are smaller and earlier than San Marzano, with nice thick flesh and good, rich tomato flavor.
Blocky fruits are quite dry, but still quite tasty when eaten raw.
San Marzano has always been my favorite paste tomato despite its lack of disease resistance and this strain, imported from Italy, is particularly good. A vigorous indeterminate vine carries large, lobed fruits, almost like elongated bell peppers. This strain has a pleasant and mild tomato flavor which we really like, with very low water content. Fruit has thick flesh and open seed cavities. Yields are very high.