Best canned & jarred peeled tomatoes according to redditors

There's only one small area of Italy that's allowed to sell "official" D.O.P. San Marzano tomatoes. The many brands labelled "San Marzano" without the "D.O.P." are of a similar tomato variety but not from that exact region, with some not even from Italy at all. However, prices and quality vary wildly between brands and more expensive cans are not necessarily much better.

This brand is the most common one in the US, usually for $3-$4 a can in markets. They're actually grown in California, though the can leads you to believe they're Italian. I don't know if they're the best and I don't intend to test all my local brands to find out. But they're good, easy to find, and not too expensive. Some of the real D.O.P. brands cost twice as much.

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buy the Cento San Marzano tomatoes

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^^i'm ^^a ^^friendly bot

I bought a case of these on Amazon for under $25 - http://www.amazon.com/Carmelina-Brands-Italian-Peeled-Tomatoes/dp/B00CEW2UG4/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1413333472&sr=8-5&keywords=san+marzano

Way better than what I normally get canned at the store.

It has moderate carbs, something like 4 net per serving, with 6 servings in a 28oz can (enough to make 4-5 14in pizzas).

Not something I'd consider dangerous, but you have to make sure they didn't add extra sugar into the can, which is common.

Muir Glen Canned Tomatoes, Organic Whole Peeled Tomatoes, No Sugar Added, 28 Ounce Can (Pack of 12)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0012HEVUA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_UWgDAbTYRMR73

We get Ciao tomatoes at our restaurant and they are really good. I sampled all of them and the DOP ones are expensive but really good. The non DOP plums are just as good if you can find them and much cheaper and their certified organic ones were my least favorite. We switched from Alta Cucina and what I like about the Ciao tomatoes is that they are not too salty, which a lot of producers add to mask mediocre tomatoes.

That's way too much oil. Far too much paste and not enough sauce. No need to add water. Needs garlic and basil. Also needs some alcohol. Tomatoes have some flavor compounds that are alcohol-soluble.

Here's my sauce:

Add 1/4 cup olive oil to a hot saucepan. Dice one large yellow onion, add it to the pot when the oil is shimmering. Turn the heat down to medium-low. You want to sweat the onions, not brown them. After 5 minutes, add in as much crushed garlic as you like. I personally use 4 cloves. Keep that cooking for another couple minutes.

Add 2/3 cup of red wine to the pot. Cook that a few minutes to burn off some of the alcohol. (Use wine you'd want to drink. Never, ever use "cooking wine". Cooking wine is undrinkable wine that couldn't otherwise be sold and should be avoided.)

Add in one giant can (28 oz) of whole tomatoes. (I like San Marzano tomatoes, but in a pinch a big can of diced tomatoes will do.) Add in a couple generous pinches of salt and as much black pepper as you like, along with a tablespoon of sugar. Simmer all that for about 45 minutes, stirring every once in a while. Smash up the tomatoes a bit as you cook, but leave some in large chunks.

Next add in one small can of tomato paste. Stir it in well until the sauce thickens. Now add in a big handful of chopped fresh basil. (I roll the leaves up and cut them so they end up in thin strips. Google "chiffonade" to see what I mean.) Toss your cooked pasta into the mix, or put some over pasta on a plate. Shred a little parm on top and eat.

You can freeze this very well, and can also use it for the basis of other stuff. Brown some ground beef, drain and then throw it into the sauce. Sometimes I put peeled shrimp into it when I put the paste in. I also sometimes add cooked hot Italian sausage to it, and sometimes I put the sausage on a hoagie roll and pour on some sauce. That sort of thing. I also sometimes put some thyme or oregano in there too. I occasionally add red pepper flakes.

If you're wedded to the idea of bacon, cook the chopped bacon in the pot first and use the rendered fat to cook the onions. No need for oil in that case.


Edit: 1/4 cup olive oil...

The sauce was essentially the same as J. Kenji's, with Bionaturae, Organic Whole Peeled Tomatoes

I'm been trying to find the best tomato, and I'm pretty sure that's it. The sauce was great. Really, really great. (I use the same tomatoes in my regular pies, too, without cooking or adding anything—just getting rid of as much water as possible after processing.)

Hi! I used this brand - Dell' Alpe San Marzano DOP.

If you can get ahold of Cento brand San Marzano tomatoes, they are really superior to the Muir Glen.

My advice is for the tomatoes -- buy the best quality you can, it makes a difference. If you can find this brand of canned tomatoes for your sauce -- Alta Cucina -- they are the BEST tasting canned tomatoes and make an unbelievably delicious sauce -- they were recommended by the owner of the city's best pizza restaurant. I can only find them at a specialty foods store near me. Second to those is Pommi, they come in a tetrapack and are pretty widely available at grocery stores.

In this case does the brand of tomatoes matter?

http://www.amazon.com/Pastene-Marzano-Whole-Peeled-Tomatoes/dp/B004CZXSAS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1404177755&sr=8-1&keywords=pastene+italian+peeled+tomatoes

Yeah, tomatoes are very flavorful as shown in the figure below:

https://www.nature.com/articles/srep00196/figures/1

Flavor network and the principles of food pairing

https://www.nature.com/articles/srep00196

BTW, we could get Alta Cucina tomatoes from Restaurant Depot for $5 a can:

https://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php?topic=40403.0

> Ask your pizza store if they will sell you a case. Most around my area will.

It's bloody expensive on Amazon, shipping is high for such a heavy #10 can:

https://www.costcobusinessdelivery.com/Stanislaus-Alta-Cucina-Whole-Peeled-Plum-Tomatoes%2C-%2310-can%2C-6-unit-case.product.100131944.html

https://www.amazon.com/Stanislaus-Cucina-Whole-Tomatoes-Pound/dp/B0050IKUBG

http://www.pennmac.com/items/3231//alta-cucina-whole-plum-tomatoes

They didn't mention anything about BPA-free linings, though.

I get the same cans off Amazon. Seem fine to me.

https://www.amazon.com/Cento-Marzano-Organic-Peeled-Tomatoes/dp/B0045W29XK/ref=sr_1_3_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1541447928&sr=8-3&keywords=san+marzano+tomatoes

https://www.amazon.com/Cento-Marzano-Organic-Peeled-Tomatoes/dp/B0045W29XK/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=cento+tomatoes&qid=1565728340&s=grocery&sr=1-3

Saute a large onion and a full head of garlic in a big ass pot, then add the 6 cans of tomatoes with salt, pepper, italian spices. Cook for 1.5 hours on medium/low stirring every 15 minutes. Let sit for a couple hours to cool down, then put into portion sized ziplocks. Freeze them, leaving 2 at a time in your fridge.

When you want a meal pan fry your favorite meat (I do chicken sausage or chicken thighs usually) and vegetables (bell peppers, mushrooms, zucchini are good) then add a portion of sauce directly to the pan with the meat/vegetables. Add noodles. I add fresh basil and anchovies (umami baby), but it's not necessary.

If you want a meal for launch day but don't want to cook, pre-prep the whole thing, fridge it, and just microwave it. Generally lasts 2 days in the fridge with noodles. Sauce lasts about a week in the fridge, a year+ in the freezer. Makes 14-18 meals worth of sauce.

You can buy sauce, but this is cheaper than the good stuff and tastes better.

Here is a ridiculous amount of them

https://www.amazon.com/P-Marzano-Tomatoes-Gustarosso-DANICoop/dp/B00G2J8U64/ref=mp_s_a_1_14?keywords=dop+san+marzano+tomatoes&qid=1567988287&s=gateway&sprefix=dop+san+marzano&sr=8-14