Marmande tomatoes on a French market stall. The season is May to October in France but imports are available. This very large heart of beef or beefsteak tomato with its distinctive ribbed shape and fragrant smell is excellent fresh in a salad or as an ingredient in sauces, in gratins and ratatouilles and roasted on a barbeque. It originated in the area Lot-et-Garonne and Bouches-du-Rhone - from where it gets its name, Marmande. It owes its origins, to a degree, to grapes that were devastated by the phylloxera epidemic of 1863. This variety of tomatoes were developed as an alternative crop. Native to Central America, the tomato arrived in Europe in the 16th century.