Marks & Spencer has launched a new Super Sweetini variety of tomato after “tireless” work to gain an extra sweet variety.

M&S and its grower Bernard Sparkes started with a variety which had a naturally good flavour, and combined it with Sparkes’ 30 year experience in growing tomatoes to develop a special “secret” growing technique to enhance the flavour.

The discovery follows “years” of testing during which time the number of tomatoes screened was brought down from “hundreds” to twelve before Super Sweetini was selected.

This summer M&S hopes to sell more than 4,500 tonnes of tomatoes and the Super Sweetini is priced at £2.29 for 220g.

Independently tested at Birmingham University, results show that it has one of the highest levels of glutamic acid (also known as umami) in tomatoes giving it “fantastic” flavour. Umami is a pleasant savoury taste imparted by glutamate, a type of amino acid, and ribonucleotides, including inosinate and guanylate, which occur naturally in many foods including meat, fish, vegetables and dairy products.

M&S tomato expert Jo Oliver said: “We have worked tirelessly with our grower Bernard Sparkes to develop what we think is the best tasting tomato ever sold at M&S, and potentially on the high street. With levels of glutamic acid (umami) higher in the Super Sweetini than any other tomato, we are sure our customers will be impressed with the amazing flavour we have created. We hope this will be a huge success with our customers, we certainly think they will love them.

“Summer salads will never be the same, the Super Sweetini will revolutionise customers’ tomato eating experience. To have a tomato that is so balanced in sweetness and acidity and delivers a better/high flavour has been unheard of until now.”

In addition to umami, the Super Sweetini also has higher sugar levels than a standard tomato of that size.

Levels of Lycopene, an antioxidant naturally present in tomatoes, has been recorded to be higher in Super Sweetini than any other tomato M&S sells. The lycopene was measured using UV spectrophotometry. The analysis has to be carried out on ice, in a darkened room, because once extracted from the tomato, the lycopene tends to break down very quickly.

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