I would love to hear from you on this product. Over and over again I have heard people rave about San Marzano tomatoes, picked at the height of ripeness from the magical foodie land of Italy. Apparently these are the only tomatoes worth buying and the only ones real foodies cook with. At $6 a can, I want to know if they are worth it. I finally spent the money at a fancy food store and tried them out.
As the stormy weather raged outside yesterday I decided to make Food Network Magazine’s Pasta Fagioli which required only five of these magical tomato nuggets so I put the rest of these enchanted tomatoes in a Ziploc freezer bag and labelled them “fancy tomatoes” to try out in more recipes down the road.
The soup was absolutely divine but was it because of those five tomatoes? I am not sure! Of course I will be testing them some more down the road. For me, the real test will either be a tomato soup or a homemade tomato sauce.
So what is your experience? Have you tried these tomatoes? Are they worth all that extra money or is it just hype? Help a foodie out and share your wisdom with me.
I don’t think they are worth the extra money. The proof would be if you feed them to someone in a dish and the go OMG where did you get these canned tomatoes? Ha, ha. I use organic whole by Utopia (Lindsay, Ontario). I also grew San Marino last summer and wasn’t all jazzed up about them. I preferred the beefsteaks and Black Krim…. I guess they are less bitter in sauce…
I’m such a low-grade foodie that I’ve never even heard of them! Del Monte is good enough for me!
It’s true, when is anyone impressed by canned tomatoes by anywhere? LOL! Oh that’s interesting. I have thought about growing beefsteak but wasn’t sure it was worth it. Too funny Debra! I’m a Unico girl myself.
So far two people via Twitter say they were worth them and one via Foodbuzz. We’ve got a tight race going here!
I gave you my opinion in the FN Forum, but I’ll repeat here for your followers. I found a brand called
Italissima in B.C. I consider as good as San Marzano (Which is a district near Naples – not a type of Tomato). They are a little more expensive but worth the price, Canned in Italy Choice Tomato packed in Puree not Juice.
The best I can suggest is shop around, try Italian Neighbourhood stores, etc. a you’ll find something to use which is tasty but doesn’t blow the budget.
Thanks for all your comments Wayne! I’m not sure I will be able to find those tomatoes but I will be on the hunt for them from now on. I love that they’re canned in puree, that would make a huge difference! I wish I could get to those specialty stores but around here all I have is the major chains.
Hey Suzie! That is such a tough call, I mean its true, when was the last time you put a canned tomato in a bowl and ate it? That being said, Greece has ruined tomatoes for me, For the entire month that I was there I ate Greek Salad twice a day (no word of a lie!) The feta tastes better, the green peppers taste better, the cucumbers – amazing, the tomatoes? They tasted like Sunshine, seriously, sunshine! I could not stop eating them, I got more Vitamin C that month than I have my entire life. I think that there must be a difference but once they can them, really, do you think there is that much difference? I dunno, I will try them next time I make Tomato Soup!
C
Hey Colleen! Oh wow, a month eating food in Greece? Yes, that would ruin food in general for me too. I mean everything must taste better there! Tomato soup is a good choice for testing them out, for sure.
I’m loving this because you have posed a question I ponder every time I see these. “Should I buy them?” I think, and them I pick up a 99 cent can of Heinz. Will check back to see what the verdict is.
One of these days, though, I will can my own tomatoes…
Thanks Lyndsay! I’m glad the convo on this topic helps. Yes, canning your own tomatoes would be the best for sure! There are a lot of people via the Food Network page that feel these tomatoes are worth the money but I would probably only do it again for special occasions.
I don’t really know either. I was very excited to see them when Costco opened here (first time I have ever seen San Marzano Tomatoes in Saint John) and they were good, but I don’t know that they blew me away. I guess I am still undecided.
Perform a simple test. Cook the same soup or sauce using San Marzano tomatoes in one, and regular tomatoes in the other.
The difference in taste will be obvious! I’ve done it and the San Marzano soup blew the other one away.
Michael Smith got me hooked on these when I saw him praise them up and down on his cooking show. I tasted them, right out of the can, compared to my other regular can of tomatoes and I did notice a difference – hard to describe but they tested fresher and riper. I also do believe that whole chopped up afterwards is better than diced in the can. And I do this with these tomatoes all the time
Linda, I wish I could find these at my regular grocery store and really do them justice in my kitchen but I only had the one can. Rachael Ray used to always praise them too. Thanks for letting me know how you feel about them!
You can buy the best brand, Strianese, of DOP certified san marzano tomatoes in Canada from gourmetpizzakits.ca
Hi Suzie. There’s not a catch-all answer to this question. San Marzanos are worth the extra money if the dish you’re preparing is very simple and the tomato is the “main attraction.” But if it’s cooked with a bunch of other stuff, then it doesn’t really make much difference.
I explain it all in this blog post: The Great San Marzano Tomato Fraud
I agree. In a side by side test in a sauce I was making I honestly could not say one was better than the other. I think these recipes that insist you must use San Marzano can be a bit misleading. They are after all tomatoes and I doubt any company selling canned tomatoes are out to make inferior product.
Gerry, I think it’s just a way to get us to spend more money. Good point! I think you’re right, most companies use the best tomatoes they have too. The difference is they don’t come from Italy so…