The Lemon Fool

I like good quality tinned tomatoes but it’s all in the quality. I use these to make pasta sauces, tomato soup (when fresh tomatoes not available/great), etc. I’m looking for recommendations as buying the cheapest tins at the supermarket is, for me, definitely a mistake. I’m looking for a good balance of sweet and tart and prefer to avoid added herbs (or salt).

Any recommendations? Many thanks, Steve

Steveam wrote:buying the cheapest tins at the supermarket is, for me, definitely a mistake.

I concur cheap tomatoes are not a saving they're a downgrade.
Try Mutti, they're a revelation to me. https://mutti-parma.com/ I use the polpa available in most supermarkets, just tomato, well 99.8% tomato with a pinch of salt.
I used to buy the Napolina whole and chop them myself as I recon pre chopped were a lower grade and most tins have added juice.
I'm less discerning if I'm using passata and concentrate.

Apparently San Marzano tinned tomatoes are the best but I have never tried them at nearly £3.00 a tin!

https://www.vorrei.co.uk/collections/sa ... ted%20area.

John

kempiejon wrote:

Steveam wrote:buying the cheapest tins at the supermarket is, for me, definitely a mistake.

I concur cheap tomatoes are not a saving they're a downgrade.
Try Mutti, they're a revelation to me. https://mutti-parma.com/ I use the polpa available in most supermarkets, just tomato, well 99.8% tomato with a pinch of salt.
I used to buy the Napolina whole and chop them myself as I recon pre chopped were a lower grade and most tins have added juice.
I'm less discerning if I'm using passata and concentrate.

I agree. I really like Mutti tomatoes and stock up when Sainsbury's have an offer price. They have a slight sweetness and none of the acidity of lower priced tinned toms I tend to adopt the principle of using bog standard where the toms will have lots of other ingredients contributing to the dish e.g. herbs and spices and I use Mutti for where it is the the main ingredient e.g. as a pizza sauce on its own or on bruschetta

+1 for the Mutti tomato products. Expensive but superb.
Anyone interested in the murkey world of the global tomato market should take a look at this. A bit long but also a bit shocking

https://youtu.be/xqbNuejnP_4

Dicky99 wrote: I tend to adopt the principle of using bog standard where the toms will have lots of other ingredients contributing to the dish e.g. herbs and spices and I use Mutti for where it is the the main ingredient e.g. as a pizza sauce on its own or on bruschetta

That's a good plan, Mutti in a fairly plain tomato sauce, I wouldn't stick it in a chilli or balti for example.

Steveam wrote:
Any recommendations? Many thanks, Steve

Grow your own! Night and day. Roast, blend, sieve and freeze.

redsturgeon wrote:Apparently San Marzano tinned tomatoes are the best but I have never tried them at nearly £3.00 a tin!

https://www.vorrei.co.uk/collections/sa ... ted%20area.

John

San Mazano is both a variety and a protected DOP

£2.50 for a packet of seeds or £4 for 2 plants! https://www.suttons.co.uk/search/go?ts= ... %20marzano

Dicky99 wrote:I agree. I really like Mutti tomatoes and stock up when Sainsbury's have an offer price. They have a slight sweetness and none of the acidity of lower priced tinned toms.

Mutti are San Mazanos...

Cirio are probably San Mazano too, and a lot cheaper.

Dicky99 wrote:I tend to adopt the principle of using bog standard where the toms will have lots of other ingredients contributing to the dish e.g. herbs and spices and I use Mutti for where it is the the main ingredient e.g. as a pizza sauce on its own or on bruschetta

Since I started producing high quality roasted cherry tomato sauce I've stopped putting anything else in to my tomato sauces...

I’ve been doing further research …

I had previously enjoyed Mutti Plum tomatoes without paying much attention but I’ve now realised that Mutti sell both San Marzano and Pelati (quite clearly labelled - nothing underhand here) but the San Marzano are the DoP.

I’m now planning a comparative tasting of the two different Mutti Plum tomatoes. Probably bruschetta rubbed with garlic and topped with the tomatoes - yummy.

I also plan a visit to a rather good Italian deli to see what they sell/recommend.

Best wishes, Steve (sad life - I really must get out more!)

Steveam wrote:I’ve been doing further research …

I had previously enjoyed Mutti Plum tomatoes without paying much attention but I’ve now realised that Mutti sell both San Marzano and Pelati (quite clearly labelled - nothing underhand here) but the San Marzano are the DoP.

I’m now planning a comparative tasting of the two different Mutti Plum tomatoes. Probably bruschetta rubbed with garlic and topped with the tomatoes - yummy.

I also plan a visit to a rather good Italian deli to see what they sell/recommend.

Best wishes, Steve (sad life - I really must get out more!)

Tinned toms on bruschetta? washed down with a Macallan and coke I presume?

My vote goes to Sainsbury's Organic Plum Tomatoes. These are certainly better than Cirio, but I haven't compared to Mutti (whichever variety).

Eb.

For me there are few things that correlate with ´good quality´ tinned tomatoes, some of which were discussed above:
- peeled, not chopped [they go mushier & are less acid = flabby when sitting chopped in the tin]
- tin has white coating inside, not just transparent varnish [the tin taste gets into the tomatoes in the latter case]
- San Marzano not cherry tomatoes [nearly all tins have San Marzano variety anyway even when not labelled as such]
- high energy content per 100g [e.g., over 100kJ/100g is good and it means the tin has been made up with a fairly substantial puree; low energy content = tin is made up with water or watery tomato juice & it seems to correlate with tomatoes with bad bits etc, i.e., lower quality]
- relatively low fibre content per 100g [higher fibre content can mean they've chopped up leftover or sieved core bits to include in the puree used to fill up the tin]

I once bought one tin of every kind I could get in UK supermarkets and did a comparison.

As a result of which I found something that doesn't necessarily correlate with quality:
- price [name and shame time? 'brands' with an advertising budget generally had poor price/quality ratio]

I read somewhere that I cannot at this moment find that the 2 reasons San Marzano are used are high solid/liquid ratio & shape - they fit in the tin better, the wikipedia page hints at the 1st https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Marzano_tomato

btw I don't see the point of DOP, I think the next valley or province in Italy is just as likely to be able to grow good or even better tomatoes

gpadsa