The Italian sun-drying tomato · intensely flavored · perfect for preserving
The tomato that becomes something else entirely when you dry it. Already intensely flavored fresh, Principe Borghese concentrates into something that belongs on the best tables in Italy.
Tomato Profile · Jamie's Garden 2026 · Santa Monica Mountains · 1,170 ft elevation
| Variety | Principe Borghese |
| Type | Italian Heirloom Drying Tomato · Indeterminate |
| Origin | Italy · traditional sun-drying variety from central Italian estates |
| Days to Maturity | ~75 days from transplant |
| Fruit Size | 2–3 oz · egg-shaped or plum-shaped clusters |
| Garden Role | Preservation · sun-drying · intense flavor concentrate |
Principe Borghese is the preservation variety of this garden. Named for the Borghese family estates in Italy, this variety was bred specifically for sun-drying — its low moisture content, meaty walls, and intense flavor make it the standard against which all other drying tomatoes are measured. Fresh off the vine, it is already excellent. Dried, it becomes extraordinary.
The fruits are small, egg-shaped, and clustered — the vines are spectacular at peak season, draped in dense clusters of red-orange fruits at all stages of ripeness. This is the tomato of Italian summers, of rooftops in Sicily and Puglia lined with halved tomatoes drying in the sun. That tradition is alive in every plant.
| Color | Bright red-orange · vivid at peak ripeness |
| Shape | Egg-shaped to plum-shaped · small, clean, regular |
| Size | 2–3 oz · clustered growth |
| Interior | Very meaty · low moisture · thick walls · few seeds |
| Texture | Dense and firm · minimal juice |
| Sweetness | High · concentrated natural sugars |
| Acidity | Medium · balanced and structural |
| Savory Depth | Very high · intense Italian tomato character |
| Tasting Notes | Concentrated tomato · sweet-savory · herbal · rich umami |
| Character | Purposeful, intense, built for transformation |
Fresh Principe Borghese is already more intensely flavored than most tomatoes twice its size. Dried — halved and sun-dried or oven-dried until leathery and concentrated — it becomes one of the most flavor-dense ingredients in any kitchen. The sugars concentrate, the moisture evaporates, and what remains is pure tomato character at maximum intensity. This is the tomato that olive oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes were invented for.
Principe Borghese is primarily a preservation tomato, but its versatility extends well beyond drying. Halved and slow-roasted at low temperature, it develops into a jammy, intensely flavored accompaniment to everything. Packed in olive oil with garlic and herbs, it stores for months. Fresh, it works beautifully in pasta and salads where concentrated flavor is welcome. Build a stockpile. This is the variety that carries the garden's flavor through winter.
| Habit | Indeterminate · regular leaf · vigorous climbing vine |
| Height | 6–8 ft · robust support required |
| Productivity | Exceptional · covers vines in dense fruit clusters |
| Heat Tolerance | Excellent · thrives in dry heat |
| Days to Maturity | ~75 days from transplant |
| Crack Resistance | Excellent · low moisture reduces cracking significantly |
| Drying Suitability | Optimal · specifically bred for this purpose |
Principe Borghese is one of the most heat-tolerant and drought-tolerant varieties in the collection. It was bred for the dry, hot summers of central Italy and will perform exceptionally well in our Mediterranean climate. The dense clusters of small fruits make harvesting efficient — when the plants are loaded, a single picking can yield several pounds of drying-ready fruit.
Principe Borghese · Jamie's Garden 2026 · Santa Monica Mountains · 1,170 ft
Principe Borghese connects this garden to a practice that is thousands of years old. Sun-drying tomatoes is not a trend or a technique — it is one of the oldest forms of food preservation in Mediterranean culture. The Borghese family estates in Italy had entire rooftops dedicated to it. The practice encodes knowledge: which variety dries best, how to cut them, how long they need, how to store them.
I want this garden to produce things that last beyond the harvest season. The beefsteaks and the slicers are for now — for the summer table, for the moment of perfect ripeness. Principe Borghese is for November, for January, for the jar on the shelf that carries the flavor of this garden's summer into the dark months.
There is also something cosmologically interesting about drying. You take a living thing at its peak — full of water, at maximum expression — and you remove the water, concentrate what remains, and create something that is paradoxically more alive in flavor than the fresh original. Transformation through subtraction. The garden teaches this constantly.
| Variety | Principe Borghese |
| Type | Italian Heirloom Drying Tomato · Indeterminate |
| Origin | Italy · traditional sun-drying cultivar |
| Fruit Size | 2–3 oz · egg-shaped clusters |
| Days to Maturity | ~75 days from transplant |
| Flavor | Intensely concentrated · sweet-savory · rich umami |
| Best Use | Sun-drying · roasting · preserving in oil |
| Season 2026 | Transplant May 30 · Harvest July–September |