📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Italyanskiy Riflenyi (Italian Ribbed)
- 🌍 Origin: A “working name” for a variety circulated through Russian seed swaps online. As growers noted, it is highly likely a strain of the famous Costoluto Genovese.
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). Mid-season maturity with very good yields.
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Red, heavily ribbed (fluted) fruits with deep pleats. They weigh between 5 and 10.5 oz (150-300 g). The internal structure often has hollow seed locules.
- 👅 Flavor & Use: Not a fresh-eating slicer. The flesh is described as bland and starchy. Like most deep-ribbed Italian heirlooms, it shines when cooked down into a rich sauce or used as a stuffing tomato.
🍅 Grown this variety? Click here to add your own photos and review below!
This variety came to me through a seed swap on the Odnoklassniki social network. It’s just a working name. The plant is indeterminate, mid-season. The fruits are red and deeply ribbed, and they actually have slight hollows inside the seed locules. The flavor is pretty bland and a bit starchy.
The yield is good, but weirdly enough, I could only find mature seeds in the smaller tomatoes higher up on the plant. Fruit weight ranges from 5 to 10.5 oz (150-300 g).
Looks exactly like Costoluto Genovese, a spitting image.
Here is how my Italian Ribbed turned out… I got the seeds from this forum. It really reminded me of the Etoile variety, just red instead of pink – it has those same hollow locules and a pretty mediocre taste 🤷♀️
👨🌾 Editor’s Note: Slicers vs. Sauce/Stuffing Tomatoes
Both Tatyana and Oksana mention that this tomato has hollow locules (empty spaces inside) and a “bland, starchy” or “mediocre” taste when eaten fresh. Alexander nailed the identification: this is a classic Costoluto type. American heirloom growers know that these deep-ribbed Italian varieties are generally terrible for slicing onto a sandwich! Their dry, starchy texture is specifically designed to be cooked down into a thick, rich pasta sauce. The hollow locules also make them absolutely perfect for scooping out and using as baked stuffed tomatoes. If you grow this, don’t judge it raw – put it in a simmer pot!
Both Tatyana and Oksana mention that this tomato has hollow locules (empty spaces inside) and a “bland, starchy” or “mediocre” taste when eaten fresh. Alexander nailed the identification: this is a classic Costoluto type. American heirloom growers know that these deep-ribbed Italian varieties are generally terrible for slicing onto a sandwich! Their dry, starchy texture is specifically designed to be cooked down into a thick, rich pasta sauce. The hollow locules also make them absolutely perfect for scooping out and using as baked stuffed tomatoes. If you grow this, don’t judge it raw – put it in a simmer pot!
