Cream Sausage (Banana Cream) Tomato Review & Photos

What amazed me about this exotic variety is the yield. Early fruiting. The taste is completely fine, but maybe not the most exquisite. Then again, it’s not a salad tomato anyway. But it can be stored for a long time. As usual for me, it grew out a bit smaller than advertised.

Edited October 18, 2013 by Pomidoroved

Height in the greenhouse was about 3.3 feet (1 m). I pinched the suckers off up to the first truss. Fruit weight is 2.8-3.5 oz (80-100 g). Very uniform, all roughly the same size and shape. The fruits do not get smaller toward the end of the season or at the tips of the trusses. It turned out to be a mid-early variety for me. It fruited all the way until October. Heavy yielder. Sets fruit in the greenhouse in any weather, even in extreme heatwaves. It does suffer slightly from Blossom End Rot (BER), just a few fruits per bush during the heat, but it doesn’t really affect the overall harvest. Other than BER, it didn’t catch any diseases. I liked the taste. Not sour, not bland. Very pleasant. With a nice tomato aroma. The skin is thin. The fruits store very well. The flavor doesn’t degrade during cold weather or in storage.

Svetlanka, how does it hold up in canning? Does it split open? Or is the skin a bit too thin for that?

What if I plant it outdoors in the dirt….

What if I plant it outdoors in the dirt….

Verochka (tomatinka) actually did plant hers outdoors.

I canned a small batch sliced in halves, and also peeled in their own juice. I haven’t tried canning them whole. But it definitely holds its shape. Actually, everyone loved eating them fresh too. Soft texture, unlike most tomatoes of this specific shape. But not super meaty. I can’t find a photo of the cross-section.

Svetik, they look exactly like peaches in those jars… 👍

Well that’s it…. 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ I want it….

Svetik, they look exactly like peaches in those jars… 👍
Well that’s it…. 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ I want it….

I agree with every single word. 😆😆😆

Yes, my seeds were from Vera. I just realized I could take a picture right now, so I went and did it:

Mine didn’t split open in the jars either. 👍

Wow, the color is straight up amber, not really creamy at all! Is it like Lisichka (Chanterelle) or Luch (Ray)? Do they look alike or not?

Marina, no, no, and a thousand times no. They are not alike at all. My camera just refuses to capture the true color of white tomatoes. They all end up looking yellow in photos. The Sausage is truly a creamy color.

Plus, Lisichka starts ripening earlier and dumps its entire harvest much faster, whereas Sausage fruits for a long time, right until it freezes to death. And it ends up being a much heavier yielder overall.

The taste is also entirely different.

Marina, no, no, and a thousand times no. They are not alike at all…

Sveta, the tomato looks absolutely stunning, literally just like a peach 😋😋😋😋 Did your Lisichka grow in the greenhouse? It’s a determinate 🤫

Edited October 22, 2013 by Mila

The fruit color is a true “creamy” hue when fully ripe 👍 This variety really is incredibly successful – a huge yielder 🤠 every single truss set perfectly, starting from the very base of the stem. It fruited in the greenhouse until late September, and not a single tomato caught BER. The taste is pleasant, without much tartness… none of mine made it into the canning jars… 🙂

Sveta, ladies, what are you doing to me 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

Sveta, the tomato looks absolutely stunning… Did your Lisichka grow in the greenhouse? It’s a determinate 🤫

Yeaaah, but a tall one 🤫 a little over 3.3 feet (1 m).

The flavor of Cream Sausage holds up beautifully even when it is counter-ripened indoors.

And I didn’t prune the foliage off of it, which is why I don’t have a picture showing the whole bare plant 😲 ..but yes, she sure is a little sausage!

This is probably madness! But when you see a photo and description of this creamy icicle, it instantly triggers an attack of greed and madness in the form of “I WANT IT!” Just when you think everything has already been reviewed and discussed – nope, here comes a late-night surprise straight from the vaults! Good job, tomato lovers – there’s still gunpowder in the flasks, show ’em what we’ve got!

Marina, no, no, and a thousand times no. They are not alike at all…

Phew, thank god, you made my day!!!!

Just to be fair, it turns out this variety is actually called Banana Cream. It was renamed without the consent or notification of the breeder (Tom Wagner):

See the message at the very end of the thread on tatermater

Banana Cream… Cream Sausage… Creamy Icicle… 😲 Total confusion! 😲

Reporting in. Cream Sausage/Icicle is absolutely phenomenal in jars. I canned some whole (peeled) in their own juice and some as halves in marinade. Very tasty. Though it’s true, it doesn’t “crunch” like some people prefer.

How many stems should you prune it to? And how aggressively should you sucker it? 🌸🌸 I will be growing it outdoors under a plastic tunnel.

Len, I pruned a few suckers off right at the beginning. But then I stopped. It only hurts the yield. You just have to tie it all up. The stems are very delicate, and the bush doesn’t get very wide.

Heavy-yielding, low-maintenance, healthy variety, and the bush takes up very little space. Taste-wise it was a bit tart, which is surprising, all my other yellow tomatoes turned out bland this year. 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

Heavy-yielding, low-maintenance, healthy variety… Taste-wise it was a bit tart, which is surprising, all my other yellow tomatoes turned out bland this year.

Irish, did you grow it outdoors in the dirt? How tall did it get? 🌸

Grew in the greenhouse, barely pruned it at all, reached about 3.6-4 feet (1.1-1.2 m), heavy yielder and very tasty 👍 And the color is just unusually beautiful 🙂

Grew in the greenhouse, barely pruned it at all…

Svetik, so is it better for the greenhouse or outdoors? Where does it perform better?

Svetik, so is it better for the greenhouse or outdoors? Where does it perform better?

I haven’t planted it outdoors yet, but I think it will do great anywhere 🙂 Provided the weather doesn’t totally ruin things.

Ladies, what exactly is “White Icicle”? The color looks straight-up creamy once it sits for a bit. 🤷‍♀️ My daughter deleted all my photos, my computer caught a virus. 😞😞😞

Ladies, what exactly is “White Icicle”?

Who did you get the seeds from? Does it look like this one?

Who did you get the seeds from? Does it look like this one?

Svetlana, check your DMs please. 😉

Mine wasn’t a very heavy yielder outdoors this year, but I’ll definitely give it another try – it really is a cute variety.

Mine turned out quite yellow when fully ripe… This is the only photo I have 🙂 The walls are thick, but the tomato itself is quite soft and tasty 🙂🙂

Where is everyone getting their seeds from? This year I bought mine from a trusted seller on eBay (never had a crossed seed from him, 10 out of 10 were perfect).

Looked at the listing – it says determinate. What does that mean, is it super short?

Google results keep mentioning heights around 3.3-4 feet (1.0-1.20 m). What’s the real height?

I’m a bit puzzled now, I don’t plant short varieties in the greenhouse, by the end of the season everything I grow is at least 5 feet (1.50 m) tall…

And how should I handle it – it’s going to be hard to find good neighbors for it.

PLEASE show me a photo of the entire bush in full view!!!

Alena, on the previous page Sveta posted the real height – 3.6-4 feet (1.1-1.2 m) in the greenhouse. And I still don’t understand – are Creamy Icicle and White Icicle the exact same thing or not? Sveta-Sweet, please respond! 🙂

Alena, on the previous page Sveta posted the real height – 3.6-4 feet (1.1-1.2 m) in the greenhouse…

Tanechka, your review is exactly what I was hoping to see. Our approach to greenhouse management is very similar, whenever I see your photos it looks exactly like my setup 🙂 (seriously, I’ve noticed things look amazingly similar).

I’m just puzzled by this creamy one 🙂 Right now I’m trying to arrange everyone in the greenhouse by height, and I want to put all the icicle/paste types into one bed to make it easier to prevent BER – I don’t use heavy chemicals, just dolomite lime, but the large beefsteaks don’t respond well to it, they are heavy feeders 🙂 calcium blocks nitrogen absorption. Long story short, I’m trying to find a balance between the skinny plants and the hungry beefsteaks 🙂 and I’m trying to separate them on different sides of the greenhouse so they don’t ruin each other’s lives 🙂

Mine stayed under 3.3 feet (1 m). And it grew outdoors and set fruit beautifully. This year I just direct-sowed it straight into the dirt outdoors. Harvested three trusses per bush. Mine isn’t yellow, it’s definitely closer to a creamy white. Really love this variety. Low-maintenance, heavy-yielding, and tasty. I posted a photo of the full bush somewhere in my garden log last year.

Cream Sausage is an absolute must-grow for anyone who has family members with allergies to red pigment.

The fruits have a true, classic tomato flavor despite their pale color. Most of the larger pale varieties are way too bland and tasteless, with a few rare exceptions.

IMHO The name “Banana Cream” didn’t catch on because it doesn’t match the texture or the taste of the fruits at all.

Alena! My cold-tolerant Cream Sausage grew to 3 feet (90 cm) on 3 stems in the south corner of the greenhouse right in front of my heat-loving Amana Orange. Both yielded perfectly, despite the weird weather anomalies.

I planted it this year too. Seeds were from Vera (passed down through several hands). Bush height in the greenhouse was 31 inches (80 cm), outdoors it was 24 inches (60 cm). The bush doesn’t grow wildly, I pruned suckers up to the first truss. I could instantly spot it in a mixed bowl just by the color. This photo is from the plastic hoop house. I should mention right away that my greenhouse yields were terrible this year – I definitely did something wrong. Photo is from the 20th of July.

And I still don’t understand – are Creamy Icicle and White Icicle the exact same thing or not?

I feel like “White Icicle” is just Creamy getting “renamed” by sellers. Just like “Icicle” is too. Because honestly, it’s a sausage 😆 It literally translates to “Creamy Sausage.”

This is exactly why I agree with Tatiana (Kushnareva) when she urges people not to translate variety names when distributing them. For your own personal use, sure, it’s fun and even useful, but when sharing seeds, it’s best to keep the original English name and just provide the Russian transcription: Cream Sausage (Krim Sosejdzh (or Sosidzh)).

I had Creamy Icicle from Popenko. It really was creamy white, not yellow. The bush grew right next to the greenhouse door and was about 3.3 feet (1 m) tall (back in 2013). It was soft, didn’t store long at all, and tasted a bit sour. I didn’t plant it in 2014, even though I saved seeds. Should I give it another try?

Our Sveta (Sweet) shared Cream Icicle seeds with me. It’s such a great little tomato, grew in the greenhouse, I pinched suckers up to the first truss. Next year I’m evicting it outdoors. Yield was solid enough, but it was one of the very first to catch BER. Once I treated it, the situation cleared up, and it kept treating me to beautiful, unusual tomatoes for a long time.

For a color comparison, here it is next to a Blush cherry:

An excellent variety! I grew one bush in the greenhouse, reached about 3.3 feet (1 m), mid-season, pruned suckers up to the first truss, good yield 👍

The fruits are beautiful, creamy white, juicy (yet stored decently well), and tasty 😋, about 1.7-2.1 oz (50-60 g).

An excellent variety! I grew one bush in the greenhouse…

Svet, did you completely stop pruning suckers after the first truss? Have you tried canning it, how does it hold up in jars?

Svet, did you completely stop pruning suckers after the first truss? Have you tried canning it, how does it hold up in jars?

I think I completely stopped pruning it after that, it probably ended up having like 5 or 6 stems. The bush grew right next to the aisle near the greenhouse door, so it had plenty of space and light. I threw a few into jars, but haven’t tasted them yet 🙂

I threw a few into jars, but haven’t tasted them yet 🙂

Let us know how they behaved in the jars later. Did they turn out too soft? My family likes firm tomatoes when pickled. Even though I personally prefer the soft ones.

It’s tasty in jars. Although I marinated it in halves. It didn’t turn to mush, but it’s not hard either.

It’s so interesting that this variety stayed around 3.3 feet (1 m) tall even in greenhouses for a lot of people… mine absolutely didn’t, it just kept pushing up… I pruned suckers at first, then just gave up. The bush branched out beautifully with foliage and tomatoes, perfectly balanced… so it just stood there in the greenhouse, completely draped in tomatoes, and ripened… seeds were from Verochka Tomatinka. Here it is sliced.

I definitely liked the variety, it just felt like it was very slow to take off, but once it did, it just exploded…

Did they turn out too soft? My family likes firm tomatoes when pickled.

It’s not hard in the jars, definitely more on the soft side, but it doesn’t turn into mush. Very tasty. 👍👍

Tell me, do I absolutely have to plant it in a sunny spot in the greenhouse, or can it handle shade?

Tell me, do I absolutely have to plant it in a sunny spot in the greenhouse, or can it handle shade?

It can definitely handle partial shade: it grows and even sets fruit, but the bush will stretch and get leggy compared to one grown in full sun.

Nadin sent me the seeds. Here is the compiled description based on forum reviews (put this together before sowing): Determinate (wimpy plant habit, 3.3 ft / 1 m), early season, fruit is elongated with a tiny beak, 2.8-3.5 oz (80-100 g), heavy yielder, white color, processing tomato, tomato flavor, stores well.

Mine grew in the greenhouse. Turned out to be the absolute earliest, started flowering while still on the windowsill indoors.

It set a massive amount of fruit – the tomatoes are tasty. Not really a classic tomato flavor, more of a mildly fruity, refreshing taste. Juicy. Absolutely super in a salad! Especially considering it was the very first salad of the season 🙂 The tomato is firm, stores incredibly well, doesn’t shrivel, doesn’t spoil – just sits there glossy and beautiful.

Very short, topped out around 3.3 feet (1 m). It terminated its own growth around late July. But the tomatoes hung on the vine until late September.

The fruits didn’t get sick with anything. At the very end of the season, Botrytis (Gray Mold) attacked the blossoms (it was raging through my entire greenhouse). So that last truss didn’t make it.

Grew outdoors in the dirt. Heavy yielder, but the taste just isn’t for me 😆

Growing it this season just to save seeds. I am very satisfied! A total treat. Absolutely loaded with fruit. I can’t upload photos, don’t have time to resize them. Grow it, it’s an awesome tomato!