black krim - sweet and smoky or salty?

[tjg911]

excerpt from tatania's database:

The fruit of the authentic strain have a sweet rich flavor with a smoky edge, giving them a very good taste. There is another strain of Black Krim that has a salty edge to the flavor and is tart, lacking the sweetness of the authentic strain but are still quite good.

does the salty variation also have the smoky flavor? it doesn't sound like it does.

if you have grown black krim which variation did you have?

finally after many years of wanting to grow black krim, but always bumping it for something else that often didn't live up to what i hoped for, i am doing it next year and i wonder which one i'll get?

tom

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by tjg911

excerpt from tatania's database:

The fruit of the authentic strain have a sweet rich flavor with a smoky edge, giving them a very good taste. There is another strain of Black Krim that has a salty edge to the flavor and is tart, lacking the sweetness of the authentic strain but are still quite good.

does the salty variation also have the smoky flavor? it doesn't sound like it does.

if you have grown black krim which variation did you have?

finally after many years of wanting to grow black krim, but always bumping it for something else that often didn't live up to what i hoped for, i am doing it next year and i wonder which one i'll get?

tom

Tom, you were quoting from Jeff F's report and he's a very good friend of Craig's and also did all the newsletter labels for Carig and I when we were publishing Off the Vine, and Jeff posts here as well. But I really don't know what he means by authentic and non-authentic strains of Black Krim.

http://t.tatianastomatobase.com:88/wiki/Black_Krim

Craig L listed it in 1991 and I'm pretty sure I got my seeds from him and BK was one of the first so called blacks listed in the SSE YEarbook. When I got my first Yearbook, I think in maybe 1989 there were only FOUR black ones, and now there are several hundred.

Others who were quoted at Tania's site said nothing about any salty/ smokey tastes and you'd find the same to be true if you look at those who have listed BK thru the years, well yes, a few do refer to smokey/salty tastes, to be honest, but most don't.

All to say that I've grown my share of blacks and with very few exceptions they aren't my faorite group of tomatoes. And not once have I ever tasted anything salty or smokey from any I've grown.

So maybe we're back to the adage of taste being personal and perceptual and that not everyone experinces the same tastes for the same variety.

[Anthony_Toronto]

Smokiness is probably luck/weather dependant...have had several smoky fruits from assorted 'blacks' over the years, that led tasters to say 'this tastes like bacon'. One friend got the smoke/bacon from a Dr. Wyche's Yellow plant that I gave him. Doesn't happen often enough unfortunately.

[Suze]

Tom, I would have to look at my data on seed source (or sources) I've used in the past in my grow outs for Black Krim, but IMO there are better darks.

It's a good tomato, but again, there are better tasting darks. BK is not one that is going to make my grow list these days.

In any case, I can't say I have ever grown a dark that tasted smoky or salty to me. What I do detect in terms of taste from a great dark (and for that matter a great pink too) is a balanced rich sweet-tart flavor. Not too bland (sweet), also has a hint of complexity/bite. The best way I know of to describe that extra hint of 'something' I taste in a good dark is to compare it to a good aged balsamic vinegar. Hope that makes sense.

[tam91]

I love the blacks, but can't say I've ever noticed sweet or smokey. However, I love Black Krim, I think it's my favorite black so far. Some other folks have probably tried more varieties than I have though.

[RayR]

I got the smoky/salty flavor last year, this year the Krim's were more sweet. Still an awesome tasting tomato either way in my opinion.
I think Anthony may be right about it being probably luck/weather dependent.

[FILMNET]

Not me . they were nice for 2 years

[PaulF]

I agree with Suze, there are better dark tomatoes than BK. Having grown several blacks over the years, I am not sure about the smokey/salty flavors. I think when the description says "complex flavor", that is probably what reminds folks of the salty/smokey flavors. I think it is a combination of sweet and tanginess. Some years my blacks are very sweet and some years more tart and then some years more bland. But then those specific years all the flavors of all my tomatoes are different in some ways from other years. Part of nature's glorious pageantry.

[b54red]

I've run across that smokey taste three times and it was always in a black tomato in late summer or early fall when the weather is very dry and hot. It doesn't happen often but when it does it is unmistakeable. I got it for the first time from a Black Krim. The second time from an IS potato leaf and the third time from an unknown black volunteer this year.

[afrance30]

I love Black Krim, it's one of my favorites, but I love the blacks and bi-colors. Both have variable tastes, depending on weather and soil. If you have good soil and a stretch of dry, hot weather you will get a smokey tasting black. I've also had one or two with a slight salty taste, but not sure of what caused it, as the others on the same plant didn't have the slight salty taste. It's heavenly when you do find one and I guess it just depends on what mother nature gives you.

Regardless, Black Krim does well for me and will always be on my grow list. It sure doesn't hurt to try it at least once and find out.

This was my first year to grow BK. I was anticipating the smoky flavor, but couldn't detect it in my tomatoes. I did give some BK fruits to other folks who described the flavor as "smoky". The slightly acidic flavor was excellent for me however. I was very pleased to experience early high production from fairly small plants. My only negative for BK is the fruit texture which I first described as mealy. Someone more correctly described it as buttery soft. The fruit didn't seem to last long once removed from the vine. I even had a few become softer than I like to eat before I thought they were ripe on the vine. Based on taste, earliness, production, heat resistance, and apparent disease resistance; the BK variety has earned a repeat performance in my garden.

Ted

[FILMNET]

So true i had to pick mine early all summer because we got huge rain storms which cracked them, so i picked the as color changed. If i didn't eat them when they were ready inside they changed to soft. I hope next year better, Ill tell you, Black from Tula were better tasting last year. I am growing then both next years love black ones

[b54red]

Ted what you mentioned about the fruit being mealy is from letting them get over ripe. BK is one of the most difficult tomatoes to eat at the right time. If you eat it too early the flavor is not fully developed and if you wait just a day too long it can be mealy and mushy. The first year I grew it I frequently waited too long to eat them and was disappointed with the taste and texture; but I finally got the knack of knowing when to cut them and eat them. Another drawback with BK is its' tendency to split worse than other blacks. Despite all of its' short comings it is still one of my favorite tomatoes.

BTDP is one that gives the opposite problem for me. If you don't allow it to ripen longer it will taste acidic and thin; but if it is fully ripe it has a very nice balanced rich flavor.

B54red,

You state the problem well. I have a tendency to wait for tomatoes to lose the green shoulders before I pick them as "vine ripened". With BK, when most of the green shoulders are gone, it is over ripe and mushy. I've picked them with green shoulders and let them sit on the kitchen cabinet overnight. By morning, some were mushy and had developed splits.

Ted

[tjg911]

thanks. as usual some folks love a given variety while others are unimpressed. i'll see what happens next season with it.

i only once had a salty tasting tomato and it was excellent. the variety was cherokee purple which i have grown many seasons. i never had gotten a salty taste from any cherokee purple in any season but in 2010 my 1 plant was producing tomatoes that definitely had a different taste.

tom