📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Apricot Jam (Abrikosovyi Dzhem)
- 🌍 Origin: A delightful novelty variety circulating among Russian collectors. Experienced growers strongly suspect that this variety is actually synonymous with another famous Russian fuzzy tomato called Yellow Target (Zheltaya Mishen).
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), producing powerful, vigorous bushes with large fruit trusses.
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Small cocktail-sized fruits weighing 40-60 g (1.4-2.1 oz). Their standout feature is their skin: it is velvety/fuzzy (the “angora” or peach trait). The fruits are a beautiful bright yellow, often developing a pink blush. When placed on a plate, they look exactly like real miniature apricots!
- 👅 Flavor & Texture: In a good, sunny season, they are incredibly sweet, juicy, and fruity. However, they have thick walls and can get soft/mushy quickly if left on the vine too long or grown in poor weather.
Apricot Jam
Indeterminate, a stunning variety! High-yielding, beautiful, velvety yellow fruits that actually look just like real apricots! Sitting on a plate, you literally can’t tell the difference! Juicy, sweet, my absolute find of the year 😍
They can have a pink blush, weight 40-60 g (1.4-2.1 oz). Thanks to @Rea Caddi for the seeds!
Seeds were from Svetlana, 2025 season (which was a difficult season for us).
Mine didn’t build up any sugars/sweetness, and it gets soft and mushy very quickly on the truss. It is thick-walled, with a light peach fuzz.
Apricot Jam
Mine got plenty sweet, I totally stuffed myself with these apricot tomatoes again!
Svetlana @Svetikk, have you ever grown Yellow Target (Zheltaya Mishen)? I grew it last year. And this year, the seeds sent to me labeled as Aunt Gretel’s Hats turned out looking exactly like that target! The seeds were signed as being originally from you, so maybe they are actually Apricot Jam!
It would be great to compare these varieties. Because outwardly, they seemed absolutely identical to me. And the bushes too—tall and vigorous. Large fruit trusses, and the skin is fuzzy. True, both varieties were pure yellow for me without the pinkish blush like real apricots.
Ninulia wrote:
Svetlana @Svetikk, have you ever grown Yellow Target (Zheltaya Mishen)? I grew it last year. And this year, the seeds sent to me labeled as Aunt Gretel’s Hats turned out looking exactly like that target! The seeds were signed as being originally from you, so maybe they are actually Apricot Jam!
I grew Yellow Target a long time ago, and yes, Apricot Jam looks very much like it.
Clarify, who sent you the seeds and which Hats were they? Aunt Gretel’s? Do you have a photo of the seed packet by any chance?
Svetikk wrote:
I grew Yellow Target a long time ago, and yes, Apricot Jam looks very much like it.
Clarify, who sent you the seeds and which Hats were they? Aunt Gretel’s? Do you have a photo of the seed packet by any chance?
Svetlana, they were sent by Galia (ahleto), and yes, specifically Aunt Gretel’s Hats. But no hard feelings, I liked these little yellow ones too. I can always plant the Aunties next year.
What seemed really interesting is how remarkably similar they turned out to be to Yellow Target. After all, it’s a very memorable variety, and I practically grew them back-to-back. I grew Target in ’24 and this one in ’25.
Ninulia wrote:
Svetlana, they were sent by Galia (ahleto), and yes, specifically Aunt Gretel’s Hats. But no hard feelings, I liked these little yellow ones too. I can always plant the Aunties next year.
If Galia packed the seeds, then it’s not my fault! 😆 But I’m not totally sure.
As for Apricot Jam and Yellow Target—it’s highly possible they are the exact same variety. That thought crossed my mind immediately as well.
