Principe Borghese

Principe Borghese sets abundant clusters of small plum-shaped fruits, generally one and a half to two inches long, that are meaty and dense with very little juice and only a handful of seeds. Unusual among tomatoes, the fruit does not naturally drop from the vine when ripe, allowing it to dry in place on the plant. The vines are noted for resistance to cracking and disease and can reach up to six feet, producing weighty fruit that benefits from trellising. This combination of firm, low-moisture flesh and vine-drying habit has made it regarded as one of the finest tomatoes for sun-drying.

Beyond fresh use in sauces and salads, Principe Borghese is best known as the classic Italian tomato for drying, historically favored by Italians for producing pomodori secchi, or sun-dried tomatoes. Fruits are typically split in half and sun-dried, staying firm and meaty while holding their color and flavor. Growers can also dry the tomatoes directly on the vine by uprooting the whole plant and hanging it upside down somewhere warm and dry for one to two weeks.

The plants are determinate, concentrating their fruit set into one prolific harvest rather than a season-long trickle. Despite their relatively small size, the plants become extremely loaded with fruit.

Principe Borghese is a Tuscan heirloom bred and first offered for sale in Naples, Italy, through the M. Herb Company. It reached the United States in 1910, when the Chas. H. Lilly Co. released it as 'Prince Borghese,' describing it at the time as an entirely new introduction never before grown in the country. The compact plants are noted for yielding a bounty of small, one-to-two-ounce plum-shaped fruits.