📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Brazilskiy Velikan (Brazilian Giant)
- 🌍 Origin: A massive beefsteak variety circulating among Russian heirloom collectors. The name translates to “Brazilian Giant”.
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall) and needs serious support. Growers often prune it to two leaders. Like a lot of giant beefsteaks, it can be finicky in extreme heat and is prone to dropping blossoms during mid-summer heatwaves.
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Massive red beefsteaks. The original seed listings described them as oblate and ribbed with dark raspberry flesh, but growers consistently report standard red flesh and a rounder shape. Fruits easily push 1.65 lbs (750 g). Pro Tip: The first few tomatoes on the lower trusses often get catfaced or misshapen, but late-season trusses produce smooth, flawless fruits. Expect some minor cracking.
- 👅 Flavor: A classic, juicy, balanced tomato flavor with a good mix of sweet and tart. Depending on your soil and weather, some growers find it leans a bit heavily on the acidic/tart side.
Got my seeds from Balashov. The listing said: Indeterminate, 110-120 days to maturity, red skin with dark raspberry flesh, 1.7–2.2 lbs (800-1000 g), oblate, and slightly ribbed.
I grew it in the greenhouse, pruned to two leaders. My biggest fruit was around 1.65 lbs (750 g), setting 2-3 per truss. The shape on mine was a bit off from the description (you can see in the pics), and the flesh was just straight red ??? Had a lot of catfacing early on, but the top trusses that ripened in September were completely flawless. It has a really long harvest window; pulled my last ones on Sept 20.
Yield-wise: I pulled 18 off one plant, and 16 off the other. Is that a decent yield for a beefsteak, or kinda low?…
As for the taste: it’s got a nice balance of sweet and tart—a really harmonious flavor for me 😋. Juicy, definitely not bland, but not much aroma.
Only downside: it tends to crack a bit, but nothing major. Definitely growing it again next year.
Grew my Brazilian Giant from seeds Olga sent me. Huge, vigorous plant, and the tomatoes are big, round, and red. Really tasty. First truss just ripened with two fruits on it. Haven’t seen any oblate shapes or ribbing so far.
And here’s how mine turned out.
Really loved this variety. Heavy yielder, no disease issues, and tasted awesome.
Productive, huge, and delicious. Definitely lived up to the ‘Giant’ name.
Here is my Brazilian Giant. Honestly, mine came out a bit too tart/acidic for my liking.
Grew mine in the greenhouse, but it dropped blossoms like crazy during the heatwave..
