A beef tomato (British English) or beefsteak tomato (American English)[1][2] is a large tomato.[1] Grown on the plant Solanum lycopersicum, it is one of the largest varieties of cultivated tomatoes, regularly at 20 cm (6 in) in diameter with some weighing 450 g (1 lb) or more.[3] Most are pink or red with numerous small seed compartments (locules) distributed throughout the fruit, sometimes displaying pronounced ribbing similar to ancient pre-Columbian tomato cultivars. While popular among home growers for beef sandwich toppings and other applications requiring a large tomato such as toppings on large steaks, beefsteaks are not grown commercially as often as other types, since they are not considered as suitable for mechanization as smaller slicing tomatoes. Non-commercially, however, they are the most popularly grown tomato in North America.[3]
