📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Izyuminka
- 🌍 Origin: Сommercial variety distributed by companies like Aelita. The name translates literally to “Little Raisin,” but in Russian, it is an idiom meaning “Zest” or “Highlight.”
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush). It stays very compact, reaching only about 2 feet (50-60 cm) tall. Excellent choice for open ground or container growing.
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Pink, round (sometimes showing a slight point at the blossom end), and very firm. Average weight is around 3 to 3.5 oz (80-100 g), though they can get a bit bigger.
- 👅 Flavor & Use: Sweet and highly aromatic. It’s a very versatile tomato—great for fresh eating in salads, but dense and firm enough to hold up perfectly for canning whole.
Here is the description straight from the seed packet: Early season variety (starts ripening 78-80 days after germination) for growing in open ground or under cover. The plant is determinate (bush), growing to about 2 feet (50-60 cm) tall. Fruits are round, pink, dense, and meaty, weighing about 3 to 3.5 oz (80-100 g). This variety is known for a high, stable yield and a high dry-matter content. Perfect for fresh eating and salads. (Photo credit: Feechka)
I got my seeds from the Aelita company 🙂 My packet also says it’s a determinate growing to about 2 feet (50-60 cm), but it lists the days to maturity as 100-105 days 🙂
Oh, and it claims they are oxhearts! :)))
Mine are from Aelita too. Here’s my seed packet with the description:
For the most part, the plant habit, days to maturity, and the pink fruit color matched the description perfectly. The size did end up being a bit larger than advertised on average, though. As for the shape, they definitely didn’t turn out as true oxhearts. A few of the tomatoes had a slightly elongated tip hinting at a heart shape, but they were mostly just round.
Honestly, I really loved what grew out! The yield was solid, and the flavor was excellent – sweet and very aromatic. Izyuminka is great fresh in salads, but it also works perfectly for canning because the tomatoes are so firm.
Notice how Tatyana and Inna both bought seeds from the same large Russian commercial vendor (Aelita), but Tatyana’s packet claimed a 105-day maturity and oxheart shapes, while Svetlana’s description noted 80 days and round fruit? This is a running joke in the Russian heirloom community. Big commercial packers often misprint descriptions or toss whatever seeds they have into a packet. Luckily, as Inna confirmed, the true Izyuminka is indeed an early, round/blunt pink tomato! When trading this seed, always make sure you are getting the true round-to-blunt-tipped version, not a random oxheart imposter.
