The original cardboard tomato contained the rin gene. This completely shutdown the production of ethylene. These tomatoes never turned red until ethylene gas was applied externally.
These types fell out of favor when varieties with down regulated ethylene response and production were developed. These types will turn red but are always firm and mostly flavorless.
Tomatoes have the largest difference in quality, people often think they don’t like tomatoes until they taste good heirloom ones.
Store tomatoes are bred for firmness.
The original cardboard tomato contained the rin gene. This completely shutdown the production of ethylene. These tomatoes never turned red until ethylene gas was applied externally.
These types fell out of favor when varieties with down regulated ethylene response and production were developed. These types will turn red but are always firm and mostly flavorless.