Green Zebra

Green Zebra is an unusual cordon tomato grown for its striped green salad fruit rather than for size. The skin carries dark green stripes over a yellow-green background, and some newer selections blush reddish instead of yellow as they ripen. The flesh is yellow-green, tangy and juicy, with a mild but fruity flavor that reads as tart and sweet rather than bland, softening as the fruit shifts from green to yellow. Fruits run about five to eight ounces, smaller and smoother than many heirlooms, though texture can turn somewhat mealy depending on growing conditions.

Its bright chartreuse skin patterned with deep lime-green stripes, paired with a rich flavor with a complex zing, gives Green Zebra a striking presence on the table. Sliced and mixed with orange- or black-fleshed tomatoes, it makes for a vivid plate. Beyond fresh slicing, it is also used for snacking, salads, and salsa verde.

The plants are notably productive and compact for an indeterminate habit; they were bred by Tom Wagner from four heirloom tomato varieties and introduced through Tater-Mater Seed. As true indeterminates, though, the vines can still grow vigorously, reaching several feet in areas with frost and considerably taller in milder climates. Fruits form in clusters that ripen at different times, extending the harvest over a long season. Because the fruit stays green throughout its life, ripeness is judged by stage rather than color alone: normal ripe-tomato firmness, then a shift from light green stripes to yellow, and finally a blush at the base of the stripes, with a slight yellowish blush and some give in the flesh signaling readiness, since fruit picked too early tastes bitter and left too long can turn mealy.

Most green tomatoes are treated as unripe, either discarded or fried before they ever change color, but Green Zebra came about because breeder Tom Wagner wanted to create a tomato that could reach true ripeness while its skin stayed green.