What's your favorite canned whole tomatoes?

[rhett o rick]

Here is someone's favorite,

http://shopping.yahoo.com/news/taste-test--best-canned-tomatos-222317204.html

They didnt include my favorite Cento's certified San Marzano. Makes wonderful tomato sauce.

[Stinky The Clown]

1. Honestly, any DOP San Marzano is okay with me.

I have no brand loyalty for them, just type loyalty.

[Major Nikon]

4. There are some non-DOP ones that are quite good also

I use Carmelina which are quite good. Lots of foodies swear by them. They are as good as any I've found, DOP or not.

[Stinky The Clown]

5. Are they imported from Italy?

Two things make up the San Marzano tomato that everyone raves about: the type and the location. It is the volcanic soil around Vesuvius that is part of the equation.

Funny thing about the location. DOP San Marzanos can only come from the Sarno River valley in Campania (near Pompeii). It is considered the most polluted river in Europe!

Some years ago we visited family in Castelemare di Stabia, just a few miles from there, but not in the San Marzano district. Virtually everyone grew the tomatoes on every open piece of dirt. They grow plenty of the tomato type in that area even if it isn't DOP-qualified.

[Major Nikon]

6. Carmelina is

The DOP certification is expensive and requires the grower to jump through a lot of hoops. Many of the growers that import a lot of their product to the US simply forgo the certification because it's less expensive and few in America know what DOP is anyway.

I find them to be very sweet with low acidity and a bright red color. They are pretty popular with home pizza makers.

http://carmelinabrands.com/index.php?page=italian-whole-peeled-tomatoes-in-puree-2

[rhett o rick]

14. Here is a listing and evaluation of various Italian tomatoes incl San Marzano varieties.

http://www.pasta-recipes-by-italians.com/canned-tomatoes.html

The Cento San Marzano are available at Trader Joe's.

[Stinky The Clown]

16. Our Costco has them, too, but in the giant restaurant sized cans

That's great if you're making gravy to freeze. We also use it to make soups. When we make some opus we make a whole batch at a time with the intent to freeze it. That size can dictates how much soup we make. We've used it to Mae vegetable pup, vegetable beef soup, beef barley soup, beef noodle soup, etc.

[rhett o rick]

18. Thanks Stinky. I have backed off using tomatoes in everything. Was getting burned out.

But I love the tomato sauce I make from the Cento San Marzano. And the tomatoes are good right out of the can with some basil added.

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

30. I'll go along with San Marzanos as well

For some reason, the people at Cooks Illustrated magazine don't like them.

[NRaleighLiberal]

2. My own! but they are nearly gone....so anything that is low sodium

since we roast or use them in soups....the huge cans of low sodium Italian type tomatoes at Costco are a great deal.

[rhett o rick]

7. Does Costco have canned whole tomatoes? nm

[NRaleighLiberal]

9. yes, but they are really, really big cans! Nina San Marzano type

http://www.pasta-recipes-by-italians.com/nina-canned-tomatoes.html

described in this link. Perfect for large recipes/making sauce!

[Le Taz Hot]

12. +1

Pick and can in the same day. No other taste like it.

[NRaleighLiberal]

15. I combine seed saving and tasting and canning in one session....

alternate canning with making roasted sauce. No waste, and makes for incredible off season meals!

[Le Taz Hot]

19. I had my first go at canning salsa

last year using the garden tomatoes and the garden peppers. I'm forever spoiled.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

20. you are so right about the sodium. I like to find no-salt tomatoes - but hard to find. They

taste infinitely better

[Worried senior]

26. My own too.

I can what I get from my garden and then have found a farmer that grows as organically as he can so buy three bushel and can those.

We got some grape tomatoes last spring that we didn't realize we had gotten, they made very good eating and tomato juice.

[noamnety]

3. I suggest a different standard:

Muir Glen or Hunts (plain only) because the cans aren't lined with PBA.

http://inspirationgreen.com/bpa-lined-cans.html

[Warpy]

8. I like Muir Glen about the best

They taste more like tomatoes without any off flavors from processing.

[rhett o rick]

13. Thanks for the link. nm

[pinto]

10. I've got an old aversion to canned tomatoes, so appreciate all the suggestions.

I still buy paste in a can but otherwise look for fresh or glass jarred tomatoes.

[rhett o rick]

11. Never heard of glass jarred tomatoes. More info please. nm

[pinto]

17. New Frontiers and a local co-op. They carry Eden Foods brand tomatoes.

http://www.edenfoods.com/store/index.php?cPath=23

[msanthrope]

21. That's what I use--the Centos... A great tomato. nt

[rhett o rick]

22. Centos has both the plum and the San Marzano. I have only tried the

San Marzano and I am happy with them.

[msanthrope]

23. The plums are good, and take to a braise well. A quicker-cooked sauce, I would use the

San Marzano's.

[rhett o rick]

24. I havent tried many different type but the San Mrarzon's make

an excellent sauce.

Until recently I was just using the diced tomatoes. I believe "The Chew" kept saying that a good quality of canned whole tomatoes is so much better. Now that I've tried them, I agree.

[BillyJack]

25. 6 in 1 Tomatoes

are my very favorite. However, they are ground tomatoes - not whole. They make the absolute best pizza sauce (as well as a lot of other great sauces).

[Whisp]

27. I will have to try one of those fancy schmancy tomatoes.

For me a can of Alymer's whole tomatoes are so delicious they are like dessert around here - dare I imagine there are better ones out there? oooooo.

yum.

[rhett o rick]

28. I hadnt tried any other than San Marzano and was happy with that

until a friend showed me a review where they didnt rate so high, so that made me curious. I will try other kinds, because, like you I love the kind I have but willing to learn.

[BarbaRosa]

29. I just picked up a can of Cento whole cherry tomatoes.

Haven't tried them yet so I can't comment, but they look interesting although I'm not sure of a recipe yet.