It’s the curse of picnickers, school kids, and anyone else who packs a sandwich to eat later in the day – tomatoes that end up making the sandwich soggy.But that is set to change as the world’s first non-leaking tomatoes go on sale at Tesco stores across the UK.

“The arrival of the non-leaking tomato may well be heralded by sarnie fans as the best thing to hit the sandwich world since sliced bread,” Tesco tomato buyer, Emma Pettitt, said. “As one of the most universally used sandwich ingredients the problem is one that affects millions of people every day in the UK.”

The non-leaking tomatoes were grown in Holland and are part of a long term tomato seed breeding programme that began in 1986.

After trials using more than 100 varieties the breakthrough came last year when, through natural breeding methods, the growers developed one that held its shape when sliced, baked or diced.

Tests also showed that, when making a sandwich from a standard tomato, eight per cent of its weight is lost after slicing it and a further 12 per cent of the moisture seeps into the bread only an hour later.

The performance of the non-leaking variety is significantly better – less than one per cent moisture is lost when the tomato is sliced and only three per cent seeps into the bread in 12 hours after the sandwich is made.

As well as their most obvious use in preserving the freshness of sandwiches the non-leaking tomatoes will also help in the preparation of salads and other favourite dishes such as pizza, spaghetti, salsa and lasagna.

“The new tomato is also economical as tests have shown that you need around 30 per cent less than regular varieties when making a sauce,” Ms Pettitt added.

Share