First Bite of Krim

With the first sampling of the Lemon Boy behind me, I was growing more eager for tasting the Black Krim. People on-line have described the taste as rich with hints of smoke and salt. I'd never tasted a tomato like that before, and so that one lone tomato hanging there on the plant was tempting me. Beckoning me. Is it time?  Squeeze, squeeze, hmmmmm.... Very close.  And later on when the day turned to evening with no plans to go out, I checked it again.  Yes, it's time. It might do fine for another day, but I just couldn't wait.

Now as it was shown in my previous photos, this is a rather small example of a Black Krim.  These tomatoes are known to push 8-12oz, even more if you're lucky.  Unfortunately I completely forgot to weigh mine, but I did take some comparative photos.

The tennis ball photo is a little unrepresentative, because the tomato is a bit flattened with more girth than height. It ended up being a little larger and heavier than the Lemon Boy I'd picked and eaten.

That looks better!  This is quite a close-up so you can see the grain of the skin, but to the naked eye it looks smoother.  Incidentally, I didn't get a photo of the bottom, but you can make it out a little here. The blossom end looked small and clean, no issues or distortions. Overall, the tomato showed a deep maroon coloration with subtle darker lines running through it. The shoulder is supposed to appear a little dark greenish but I didn't see any signs of that.

OK, onto the more important matter--taste!

I didn't want to slice into it. The first Black Krim I'd be eating, ever. I'd thought about letting it rest in a bowl and do a little shelf ripening for a day... but the second quickly passed and out came the knife.  ;-)  This tomato was going to be enjoyed right away, no doubt about it.

Beautiful. Look at that rich, substantial meat. The seed chambers stayed small. Perhaps it was due to the overall size. When putting the knife through, there was only a little dripping. This was not to be a watery tomato. The seeds looked big and healthy, encased in a green/yellow gelatinous envelope.

So I sunk my teeth in and let the flavor wash over my tongue. Immediately I was hit with a rich "tomatoey" flavor. It reminded me a little of a Kumato, but not as acidic and with a higher salt content. No, this isn't what I'd call a salty tasting tomato, but it didn't need salt. I was going to put on a dusting of black salt, but decided against it. I took a few more bites and just relished the deep satisfying flavor. Oh yeah... smokey? Huh. I'd forgotten about that attributed quality. Is it there? Maybe... a very subtle hint of it. Nothing at all like Lapsang Souchong. You wouldn't notice it if you weren't looking for it. I don't know how else to describe it. Maybe other fruits off the plant to come will provide a stronger flavor. In any case, I have to say that this one made me very satisfied. The Black Krim is reputed to be a reasonably able growing heirloom, but not quite as easy as a hybrid. Still, I will be saving seeds from this one to grow again.

UPDATE, August 21st 2013:

I have now tasted two more Black Krim tomatoes and these were richer in flavor than the first one. What really struck me was the more forward presence of a smokiness. Like I said earlier, nothing like Lapsang Souchong, but it's definitely noticeable and pleasant. If I can get my 2nd Black Krim plant to be highly productive, I'm going to grow this variety again next year.  I'm definitely favoring its unique flavor!