coeur de boeuf

Hi
I have a question about tomato seeds. WHen we were in France in September, the stores and markets sold these tomatoes and I have been searching for a source of the seeds.
I have found some european suppliers but they will not ship to where I am. Does anyone else know where one might find them. They were great, huge and beautiful. I realize I should have saved a few seeds to bring home….



Thanks

Those are beautiful!!!

GG

Beautiful!

Amazon sells seeds, and has branches in the UK and Germany and probably every major Euro country. (I'm thinking France might be included.) You might want to check them out. I know they will ship many items, anyway, wherever you like. I've gotten stuff from the UK site and family has gotten stuff from Germany.

To get to the sites of different countries, use /uk for England and /de for Germany, as in:

www.amazon.com/uk

or

www.amazon.com/de

Dunno what the designation for France is, but "beef heart" is a name I've heard for tomatoes in English before, so I'm sure you don't need to go to only French sites to find the seed.

Here's a chatty link about heart-shaped tomatoes:

http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=18415

Say what?!  

coeur de boeuf translates to 'heart of the ox'.  It looks like they got cross-pollinated with an acorn squash!     It's a beefsteak variety.  

I see what you mean about finding seeds stateside.  I did find this which may give you a new direction to look

In Italy its called Coure di Bue (same translation) and some nurseries are selling it as Goldman's Italian Tomato

Tomatofest has a few "heart" varieties. Here's one from Poland that looks a bit like your pic, less heavily ribbed:

http://store.tomatofest.com/Buffalo_Heart_Giant_Tomato_Seeds_p/tf-0091f.htm

Just for kicks, here's a mater that isn't really heart-shaped, but so heavily ribbed that it reminded me of yours:

http://www.seedsavers.org/onlinestore/tomato_3/Tomato-Dr-Wyches-Yellow.html

I just received a totally tomato catalog.  No coeur de boeuf, but it looks like they have a cousin,  cuore de toro.

http://www.totallytomato.com/dp.asp?pID=00209

It looks similar to the Zapotec Tomato, from Mexico, which is said to be the ancestor of the Italian varieties with similar pleating.  Gorgeous tomato!

https://www.google.com/search?q=zapotec+tomato&rlz=1C1EODB_enUS544US554&espv=210&es_sm=93&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=G9OsUqbNGMjayAGL9IHYBA&ved=0CCsQsAQ&biw=1024&bih=652&dpr=1

GG

HaHa Beafsteak tomatoes ! And here's me thinking " Coeur de boeuf " , was a posh new food dish containing beef    As in ....Core of beef   

Yep, I was expecting a french recipe for roast beef.     But these look like some of my Italian heirloom tomatoes. The Costuluto Genovese and the Costuluto Fiorentino which are not quite so deeply ribbed.


Kay

thanks for all the info, I have actually found a few suppliers, but I think my postal code creates problems because it is quite remote and so likely the BIG international delivery companies do not think we exist.
GG I grew zapotec last year because they were so beautiful, but I found they did not like something…. they turned out quite dry, NOT the gorgeous soft skinned ones we tried in France.
I guess when I was there I was assuming that if they were sold in the stores that they would be hybrids, and no point in saving seeds, but alas I find they are actually OP, or heirloom


Oxheart is what comes up the most in my searches, but the pictures look different though. THe ones in france (see the picture) were NOT heart shaped though??
Although I really hate to do it, I might just have to go back and get some      I WILL check out the amazon, it is amazing what they sell...

GWN if you have to take another trip to get some seeds.....can you take me with you?

I will carry your shopping bag    

happy gardening
rose

rose wrote:I will carry your shopping bag Wink

thanks   

This is what I grow.

I think it is called Cor de bou. This was the first (thus the picture). Mine are more pouch like than those in your ou'la la box.

Hi Debs, good to see you!

Debs that looks pretty darn close….. Where did you get the seeds?
thanks

Sorry it took me so long to get back, I cannot log on at home, only with my old school computer...at school, on the sly.

I got the orginal plant from TSC.... they also sell the seed.
I am going to order the Oxheart from Uprising seed this season (just because I love Uprising Seed Co)

Thanks for remembering me Camp..... and I think that is what Boffer was saying?

Debs....who isn't done with this site, just nutty busy during school (a girl has got to plan a garden some days!)

I got some of the same seed from TSC. Cuore Di Bue they call it. We really like the flavor. It is sort of between a big slicer and a paste tomato in firmness. They were later to set fruits than all the other tomatoes but when they did had lots of big ones. I roasted and canned a lot of them. The green ones did well ripening in a box, stayed tasty.

I checked out the site and did not find that uprising seed HAD Oxheart this year.
I did find another seed catalogue that sells them in the US though, so we will see.
Turan, did yours look anything like the original pictures in my first post?
thanks

Related but not quite the same. They have a definite gathered pouch look. Some of them are as ribbed your picture but mostly only as the 'pouch' narrows to the top. This picture is pretty much what mine looked like.


Your picture looks almost like costoluto genovese tomato. At least the pictures I have seen.

Where in British Columbia are you, GWN? Just thinking that I have seen lot of people from there come down to Great Falls, MT where I live to shop.

I live in a VERY small town (800 people) Called Scotch Creek on the North side of Shuswap lake
A great place to garden indeed.
I have been to Montana, ....though not shopping as I recall..

GWN wrote:I checked out the site and did not find that uprising seed HAD Oxheart this year.
I did find another seed catalogue that sells them in the US though, so we will see.
Turan, did yours look anything like the original pictures in my first post?
thanks

Whoops, sorry about that, Uprising calls them Italian Heriloom.
http://uprisingorganics.com/vegetables/tomatoes-solanum-lycopersicum-/slicers/italian-heirloom-heirloom-/prod_168.html

Now I am really confused here/  I grew Italian heirlooms last year and they don't look like coeur de boeuf.  I did not have that pointed top on mine

   

I find it confusing as well
I am thinking that the ones they sell int he stores in France are perhaps not coeur de boeuf..?? I really wished I had saved some seeds.
I DID order some Oxheart seeds, and will grow them this year and see what they look like

I spent months learning French for this trip so plan to go back sometime....