New Tasti-Lee Tomato Tomato Hits Publix’s Produce Aisle

A decade in the making, a more flavorful breed has emerged to help Florida growers shed their reputation for rock-hard, tasteless tomatoes.

Say hello to the Tasti-Lee, a tomato cooked up in a University of Florida research lab in rural Hillsborough County that debuted in August at Publix Super Markets.

It's a crossbreed designed to give Florida growers, who sell three-quarters of their crop to fast-food restaurants or to be chopped into products like salsa or sauce, a way to get in the premium tomato business they ceded long ago.

"Too many premium tomatoes today have a sour, acidic taste, so I balanced Tasti-Lee with a sweetness that tested very well" with aficionados, said Jay Scott, the 62-year-old horticulturist who wed two strains of tomatoes never sold commercially to create the new hybrid. "Plus it's naturally crimson."

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