A new tomato that’s pink (ish) rather than red and tastes both sweet and sour is going on sale in British supermarkets. The Kent Pink Umami is medium-sized, has a distinctive pink tinge, and a rather different flavour to the tomatoes we are used to, thanks to its oriental seed heritage.
Originally from Japan, it has been grown in Birchington, Kent, by a farmer who will supply it to Marks & Spencer — the first time the cocktail tomato has been available in this country.
Several growers ran trials last summer before M&S picked the farmer in Birchington, on the coast near Margate, to be the supplier for its stores.
Adam Whitehead, M&S tomato buyer, says: ‘This unique tomato gives customers a unique sour and savoury taste experience — it is both more savoury and more sour than a normal tomato.
Umami is one of the five basic tastes — along with sweet, salty, sour and bitter. It takes its name from the Japanese, in which it means ‘pleasant savoury taste’.
The umami taste, which comes from a type of amino acid found naturally in many foods, including meat, fish, vegetables and dairy products, is so subtle people often don’t recognise it — they just think the food tastes good.
