Solanum lycopersicum.

The Italian cuor di bue, and the shape makes the name: a meaty fruit, broad at the shoulders and finishing in a point, with marked ribs and that heart silhouette that resembles no other tomato. It's one of the great tomatoes of northern Italian cooking, particularly associated with Liguria, where it has been grown for generations. It belongs to the great family of beefsteak-type tomatoes, those large meaty-fruited varieties grown for the slice rather than for the cluster.

Fruits of about 260 grams, carried on an indeterminate plant. The flesh is dense and firm, with very few seeds and few locules: when you slice it you get a full surface, almost without cavities, which is exactly what you want for a sandwich or a tomato carpaccio. The skin is thin, which makes it pleasant raw but a little fragile to handle, and the flavour is rich, round, balanced, with that clear, complete tomato taste commercial varieties have lost. In Italy it's most often eaten just as it is, in thick slices with salt, olive oil and nothing else, or in panzanella with stale bread. Its low water content also makes it an excellent sauce tomato, though its value in the garden rather destines it for the table.

Grower's tip: heart-shaped tomatoes have a known weakness, deformation at the blossom end — what's called catfacing: scars, folds and holes at the tip, caused by cold nights at flowering time, below 12 °C. The counter is simple: don't transplant too early, even when mid-May weather is tempting. Wait until nights have stabilized. These fruits are also heavy for their attachment: plan sturdy staking from transplanting and sucker regularly to air the foliage — a large meaty tomato in a bushy plant catches blight before the others.

• Open-pollinated. Italian heirloom variety, beefsteak type. Self-pollinating, low crossing risk.
• Indeterminate plant, sturdy staking and suckering recommended.
• Gives fruits of ~260 g (9 oz) in ~80-90 days.
• Exposure: full sun, sheltered from wind.
• Rich, deep, well-drained soil. Space plants 60 cm apart. Mulching recommended.
• Start indoors 6 to 8 weeks before last frost. Transplant only once nights have stabilized above 12 °C: cold at flowering deforms the blossom end.