WIMAUMA, Fla. — When most people eat Florida-grown tomatoes, they’re usually adding it to a salad or sandwich.

But to some people, they're apparently good enough to drink too.

Sam Hutton is all about tomatoes. A tomato breeder in Hillsborough County, his tomato experience goes way back.

“I was a little kid when I started being interested in tomatoes,” Hutton said. “I had a garden outside my window.”

Now his garden has grown into a seven-acre tomato experiment at the University of Florida’s agricultural extension near Wimauma.

Hutton has been investigating how sweet it can be to be a Florida tomato.

Tomatoes in the Sunshine State are typically not blended into juices or sauces. California does it much cheaper.

“The juice that came from our tomatoes is actually preferred more than a processed product you would buy,” he said. “Like a jar of juice that you can get a grocery store.”

But with all the abandoned citrus processing plants, Florida researchers wondered what if things were different.

Would there be any advantage if we make a tomato juice or tomato sauce in Florida, Hutton’s group wondered. Would it be any advantage to this? Would it be any consumer preference?

Hutton and other UF researchers initiated a taste test to find out.

And while some types of tomatoes didn’t do so hot, the “garden gem,” developed by a UF scientist was off the charts with its taste tests.

 It tasted more like a fresh tomato than it did a can of sauce or juice.

Still, the flavor is not enough.

Launching a tomato processing plant in Florida comes with a hefty price tag.

“It would need to taste a lot better to make this worthwhile financially,” Hutton said. “But we’ll never know if we don’t start this research, right?”

The first step in a whole new field of possibilities for Florida tomatoes. And Hutton can’t wait to find out more.

UF scientists tested different tomato juices with more than 250 consumers.

Researchers believe the data will help develop tastier tomatoes for farmers to grow.