Quick Summary of Chernaya Lakomka (Black Gourmand)
- 🌍 Origin: A Russian commercial variety from the “Poisk” seed company. The name translates roughly to “Black Gourmand” or “Black Sweet Tooth”, highlighting its dessert-like flavor profile.
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Tall indeterminate, typically reaching 1.5–2 meters (5–6.5 ft) in a greenhouse. It sets fruit in clusters and has an extended, long fruiting period, producing tomatoes steadily until autumn.
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Dark brownish-red (chocolate) round fruits. They are on the smaller side, acting as large cocktails or small slicers, typically weighing 80–120 g (2.8–4.2 oz), though some can reach 200 g (7 oz). Visually, they strongly resemble the famous commercial “Kumato” tomatoes.
- 👅 Flavor & Texture: Highly rated for its sweet, juicy, and tender flesh. The skin is thin but surprisingly resistant to cracking. Unlike many dark heirloom tomatoes that go bad quickly, this variety boasts a surprisingly good shelf life.
- ⏳ Maturity: Generally early to mid-season, depending on the specific garden microclimate.
Chernaya Lakomka (from “Poisk” company)
I planted 3 bushes in the greenhouse. All turned out identical. Indeterminate, fruits in clusters, quite productive, early, with an extended fruiting period. In appearance, it is similar to the Kumato variety, but I have grown Kumato, and Chernaya Lakomka is much more productive. I liked the taste, it’s sweet. The weight of the tomatoes is not large, from 80 g to 120 g (2.8-4.2 oz).
Is the skin thin? Is it resistant to cracking? How quickly do you recommend using them (usually dark ripe tomatoes store poorly).
Quote from Zulfiya:
Is the skin thin? Is it resistant to cracking? How quickly do you recommend using them (usually dark ripe tomatoes store poorly).
The skin is thin, not tough, and it didn’t crack for me at all… I have everything mulched, I water rarely, once every 7-14 days. As for using them quickly… they grew all summer and autumn, whichever ripe ones I liked, I picked from the bush and put into a salad… The ones meant for seed saving (they are in the photo) lay around for about two weeks waiting for me to gut them… but there were no signs of rot, which means the variety can also be stored for a while. Overall, my rating for the variety is a solid 5 (out of 5)! I liked it!!! 👍
I planted it for the first time this year – I liked the tomato. Beautiful, tasty. I will plant it again.
Are Chernoe Yabloko (Black Apple) and Chernaya Lakomka not the same variety?
I really liked the taste of Chernaya Lakomka, but it turned out a bit late, they mostly ripened indoors off the vine (maybe it was just that kind of year).
Last year I planted C. Lakomka from the exact same packet as in the previous photo. The fruits were larger, from 100 to 200 g (3.5-7 oz). A good variety.
But I compared it with ‘Black Giant’, and the latter won in this competition both in taste and yield.
The Chernaya Lakomka variety in the greenhouse turned out to be tall (2 meters / 6.5 ft), productive, mid-season ripening. The fruits are medium-sized, very tasty, sweet, juicy, and tender.
Hmm, but my Chernaya Lakomka was not tall (1.5 m / 5 ft), the fruits were the same shape and size as Anela’s, but darker, almost chocolate-colored, and quite late. ???
