Red Siberian Tomato: Hanna’s Tomato Tastings 2011

Part of Hanna’s Tomato Tastings 2011

This is a Russian tomato, which means it should do well here because Russian tomatoes are bred to be fast growing in cold weather. I say should because in theory, Cleveland is suppose to be a rather cool place. In reality, we have a shortish growing season that consists of going from snow and 30F weather to drought like sun and 90F weather in a matter of weeks. Spring does not really happen here.

These tomatoes are suppose to be “early” type tomatoes. But, not surprisingly, these tomatoes did not really perform for me until the weather got cooler. Russian tomato like cool weather and these showed that.

I am a fan of Russian tomatoes. They tend to be good tasting. Which also makes sense, because let’s face it. If you are going to put that much effort into creating a tomato that can actually grow that close to Santa’s Village, it does not hurt to put in a little extra effort to make sure they taste good too.

The description from the company I bought this tomato from reads:

Great Russian tomato perfect for cooler/shorter growing regions. Sturdy plant produces abundant clusters of 4-oz., bright-red, round, juicy fruit that is surprisingly flavorful for a cooler ripening variety.

The Beauty Pageant:

Size: Slightly smaller than a baseball.
Shape: Slightly oval shaped with just a hint of ruffle on the shoulders. They were surprisingly uniform in shape and size.

Color: Solidly red with just a hint of pink.

The inside:3 chambers with rather large seeds. The gel is very tight.

Texture: Pretty smooth meat. Skin is not thick. Seedscan be a bit of a distraction.

Tasting:

Off the Vine Tasting: Good, very strong tomato flavor, especially in the meat. The gel has a strong sour, citrusy flavor that goes nicely with the tomato flavor in the meat.

Sliced and Salted Tasting: Salt removes the tomato flavor on the initial bite, though it comes back as you swallow. The sour flavor is as strong as it is without salt. There is also just a hint of sweetness.

Cooking Thoughts: Good frying tomato. It will hold up well to frying in mouth consistency and flavor. Would also do for salsas and other tomato salads.

Growing Notes:

Was not an early producer in my garden, but now that the weather has cooled down, I can see this as the savior of my fall garden as I see it producing well until a hard frost takes it out.

Will Hanna grow this one again:

Maybe. This is a pretty good tomato. The amazing uniformity of size and shape has some possibilities and the flavor is really nice.