Pear Tomato or teardrop tomatoes is the common name for any one in a group of indeterminate heirloom tomatoes.[1][2][3] It originated in Europe in the 1700s.[4] There are yellow, orange, and red varieties of this tomato; the yellow variety being most common. They are generally sweet, and are in the shape of a pear, but smaller.
Pear tomatoes are commonly eaten raw,[5] but can also be used as a garnish, as an ingredient in many different dishes and sauces, or in drinks.
The pear tomato originated in Europe in the 1700s.[6] Within the next century both England and the United States were introduced to the fruit. In 1752 records show the English using it for flavoring soups.
The first recorded yellow pear tomatoes were grown in Europe in 1805. In 1825 the Hudson's Bay Company, Fort Vancouver, once the headquarters of the fur trade in the Northwest, operated a seven-acre farm filled with flowers, herbs, vegetables, and fruits, among which was the yellow pear tomato.
In 1847 three varieties of tomato, including the pear tomato, were grown for the table in the United States. In 1863 seedsman Joseph Ellis offered over a hundred varies of tomato seeds for sale in Utah and Denver, including those of the yellow pear tomato. In 1889 George Thomas & Co. sold pear tomatoes.
In 1944 the Sun Journal featured a piece called named "Dwarf Tomatoes" written by Dean Halliday, which discussed pear tomatoes.
In 2001 the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. completed their heirloom gardens surrounding the National Museum of American History; in this garden pear tomatoes are featured.