APEX Legacy · a way of life

Rutgers Tomato

A round, deep-red, balanced tomato bred to do everything — slice, can, and cook — well. The dependable workhorse that defined the mid-century American tomato.

Compiled by APEX Legacy from published research and documented food history, under the editorial direction of Jonathan Jackson, Founder. How we write and review these pages →

Why it is ours

The tomato a generation of Northern and Migration-era families canned by the bushel, putting up summer's harvest for winter — a Great Migration pantry staple in Black households that carried Southern canning traditions north.

What it does

A balanced all-purpose tomato rich in lycopene, the carotenoid linked to lower prostate cancer risk — relevant to Black men's doubled prostate cancer mortality. Because Rutgers cans and cooks beautifully, it is an ideal source of the cooked, fat-paired tomato that delivers the most absorbable lycopene year-round. Potassium supports blood pressure.

How it is cooked

The classic canning and sauce tomato — cook it down with olive oil for maximum lycopene. Also slices well fresh. Holds up to processing better than delicate beefsteaks.

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