On taste ratings alone, the three standouts for me this year are Indian Stripe, Zolotoy Zapas and Eva Purple Ball, for plain fresh eating with really rich and complex flavour.
Zolotye Kupola and Serdtse Dezdemony were my mom's new favourites and were very sweet and beautiful big yellows. Also very sweet were the pinks, Pervaya Lyubov, Rozoviy Flamingo (heart), Yaponskiy Krab, and Petrusha Ogorodnik. I enjoyed them all but find the sweetness of pink and yellow isn't my absolute fave though it is great as an accent for other flavours.
Petrusha Ogorodnik was amazing cooked though - I used it as a pizza topping and it surprised me how much richer it tasted. More cooking experiments are pending....
Black Russian is interesting, I like them best I think when the shoulders are still green, but the ripe fruit has a unique taste too, maybe for a special recipe.
In the 'early reds' Alaska, Kimberley and 'not Sophie's Choice - indeterminate' have been the best fresh eating, out of a dozen tried.
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