I think my favorite tomato color is ‘black’. In this case it’s more dusty brown with green shoulders. Most so called black tomatoes range from purple to brown, and none of them are really black. They mostly have a slightly sweet/smokey flavor, and are very nice.
This tomato is a very early variety, and it’s usually the first to ripen in my garden. This year, with all the weird weather, it was one of the last.
If you want to grow tomatoes from far away exotic places, this one hails from Irkutsk, Russia. I read somewhere that in Soviet times that villages in this part of Siberia would have annual friendly competitions to see who could grow the best tasting tomatoes, with every village specializing in one or perhaps a couple of tomatoes. Cold frames were commonly used to extend the growing season.
Perhaps not a lot good came from the former Soviet Union, but some really great vegetables were grown then!
