I have been using hunts crushed tomatoes to make my pizza sauce. But I heard the imported San marzano tomatoes are supposed to be good. Does anyone have experience with it and has compared it with American tomatoes? Does it really make a difference?
San Marzano Tomatoes worth a try?
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Andy M.
Certified Pretend Chef
I use them and like them. They are quite expensive compared to other canned tomatoes.
thanks. do you order them online? which site is reliable?
No I get them at Trader Joes or my grocery Like Andy says they are expensive but when you taste your pasta gravey you will be amazed.
kadesma
Andy M.
Certified Pretend Chef
That's right. Supermarket shelves. You also have to be sure you get the real deal. They have to be certified SM tomatoes with the appropriate seals of approval.
I was going to mention that. I bought some tomatoes that said they were from San Marzano and had some things on the label that looked like seals, but on closer examination were not certification. I didn't notice anything special about the flavour.
I don't feel ripped off - I bought them at Costco because they were the cheapest canned tomatoes with no weird chemicals. I hadn't even heard of San Marzano at the time.
Andy M.
Certified Pretend Chef
Here's some more info on the certifications: Pastene, san marzano tomatoes, imported from italy
For what it's worth, we grow San Marzano tomatoes in our garden and wouldn't plant anything else. They are wonderful. Great for canning and they make awesome sauce.
CWS4322
Chef Extraordinaire
I agree! For plum/roma tomatoes, they are the BEST. They also make awesome tomato paste.
betterthanabox
Senior Cook
Ive seen them at walmart, for just a little more than the regular tomatoes. I buy them all the time.
GB
Chief Eating Officer
There is a difference between San Marzano tomatoes that you grow yourself and ones grown in the San Marzano region of Italy. That is not to say that your tomatoes will not be delicious. The reason San Marzanos from Italy are so prized and different is because of the soil they are grown in.
CWS4322
Chef Extraordinaire
That is true wherever you grow things. I do know that I buy certified San Marzano seed and they are best plum/roma tomatoes I've every grown. I've been growing tomatoes since 1987 and I've tried many varieties.. I like SMs because they have the most flavor and they don't turn "watery" when you make sauce, paste, etc.
FWIW, I don't like Ontario milk--the feed fed to the dairy cows doesn't render the milk as sweet as milk from cows fed a clover mix. I love WI milk or VT milk.
FWIW, I don't like Ontario milk--the feed fed to the dairy cows doesn't render the milk as sweet as milk from cows fed a clover mix. I love WI milk or VT milk.
GB
Chief Eating Officer
This might seem like splitting hairs, but in this case I really do not think it is. Yes, soil differences play a role in any produce that is grown and different soils will contribute to taste variation in anything grown, but there is a difference between that and something being specifically prized because of the specific soil it was grown in. San Marzano soil has a very high volcanic ash content which dramatically changes the taste and chemical composition of the tomato. Again, I am not saying that San Marzano tomatoes grown elsewhere are not great. They are different than ones grown in that particular soil though and it is the soil that is the reason they are so prized and need to be certified as authentic.
I think it has to be the seeds too. You can buy tomatoes from San Marzano that aren't certified and aren't as good, even though they are growing in volcanic soil.
GB
Chief Eating Officer
Yes that is true taxlady.
Andy M.
Certified Pretend Chef
thanks!
jennyema
Chef Extraordinaire
San Marzano is both a denomination of origin and a variety.
Like GB said, the reason the real canned SM tomatoes grown in the San Marzano region of Italy are so special is because of the soil they grow in. Sandy, volcanic soil from Mt Vezuvius (sp?). Like grapes (or reallyanything you grow), soil has a great deal to do with the flavor and texture you get from tomatoes.
You can grow them from seeds anywhere, but they don'e have the same taste as the real deal from Italy.
I have started to grow them every year in my garden and there's really no comparison beween mine and a high quality canned SM.
Mine are getting planted this weekend.
jennyema
Chef Extraordinaire
Go to Arthur Ave's website.
I've never seen a better selection of high quality canned tomatoes then when I was strolling about in that part of the Bronx.
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