Canned tomato products

I'm looking for recommendations on canned tomatoes. The kind to make stews or sauces with. The last batch I had seemed to taste "tinny" to me. I like crushed or pureed tomatoes, as well as tomato sauce, not too much a fan of whole stewed type.

So my questions:
1. What is your favorite brand of canned tomatoes?
2. If you buy them and keep them for six months to a year in a pantry, do they get "tinny", even though they might be safe?

I haven't bought them for a while, but I think Contadina tomatoes are in an enamel-lined can (I'm sensitive to the tinny taste as well) which helps. Unfortunately, the tomatoes themselves aren't terrific.

Oddly, I've found that the Pomi tomatoes-in-a-box taste tinny to me; I wonder if its the processing, not the can.

I recall a study in CI (IIRC) which said that the less processed, the better the flavor-- ie, whole canned tomatoes are better than crushed. Myself, I am not so sensitive to any tinny flavor, and add enough spices generally that I don't notice... What I am sensitive to is salt, and I try to buy ones without added salt.

I always have canned tomato products on hand. Usually I buy Red Gold or Muir Glen. Recently I bought Contadina Crushed Tomatoes and Contadina Tomato Sauce at Costco. I have found both to be very good products and would buy them again.

I like Muir Glen. I agree that Pomi has in the past had an odd taste, but I haven't used them for a couple of years.

Specifically, I bought the Contadina diced tomatoes - in general, I think diced are a bad idea, because to hold their shape during processing they are probably using very hard tomatoes (this I learned when canning my own) - the other products might well be better. Do Muir Glen and Red Gold use a lined can? I haven't tried the Muir Glen yet (isn't that what Cook's Illustrated recommends?) but I think I tried the Red Gold and didn't really like them - though that was quite a while ago.

I've said before, I also avoid products that contain tomato paste - I find this adds off flavors.

I thought I read/watched somewhere (about 60% chance it was Good Eats) that diced tomatoes have some chemical applied that helps keep the shape. Great for a minestrone where you want the texture, but less-so for, say, a curry where you want it to all break down -- you're better off with whole canned tomatoes you crush just before adding to the dish.

I do like Red Gold products, though. Flavors have been good. And yes, I still buy diced tomatoes.

Do Muir Glen and Red Gold use a lined can?

Muir Glen does.

JoelF wrote:I thought I read/watched somewhere (about 60% chance it was Good Eats) that diced tomatoes have some chemical applied that helps keep the shape.

I believe it's calcium chloride, which firms up the tomato flesh. I only buy whole canned tomatoes (or tomato paste), which have little or no CaCl2.

nr706 wrote:

JoelF wrote:I thought I read/watched somewhere (about 60% chance it was Good Eats) that diced tomatoes have some chemical applied that helps keep the shape.

I believe it's calcium chloride, which firms up the tomato flesh. I only buy whole canned tomatoes (or tomato paste), which have little or no CaCl2.

I also only buy whole tomatoes, and I limit that purchase to brands that are packed in juice rather than tomato puree. Muir Glen and Red Gold both pack in juice.

The people in a pizza forum I used to read swore by Escalon. They make a variety of tomato products, but the only one I've seen locally is the 6 in 1 tomato puree (at the Dominicks off of Fullerton in Lincoln Park, about a year ago). You might be able to find a whole tomato product by them if you search around, but the 6-1 is delicious.

http://www.escalon.net/

Cook's Illustrated compared canned tomatoes.

Regards,

Thanks everyone. Lots of info to consider.

I'm partial to tomatoes from the San Marzano region of Italy. I think there's been a little debate on this board about whether it makes a difference if they are true San Marzanos. From my own, albeit anecdoctal, experience, when I've made the same recipe for tomato soup or sauce with US vs SM tomatoes, the San marzano batch is noticeably better. I was just at JP Graziano and they had 32 oz cans of SM tomatoes. I don't know the exact price but I paid $30 for a big bag of groceries which included a pound of parmigiano reggiano and a half pound of pecorino sardo so they can't have been that expensive. Beware though, because there are lots of "San Marzano" tomatoes with a "product of California" label (warning) on the back. Caputo's has a nice selection of SM tomatoes, too. I'll use Pomi or Muir Glen in a pinch.

gotta agree with thai-O on this one. get some imported san marzano. worth the extra $1.

Caputo's on Harlem has a few brands of San Marzano 'maters with the DOP (Denominazione di Origine Protetta) stamp. If I'm doing a quick-cooked sauce, I stick with the DOP, even though they are about are about $1/more. I feel they have a brighter, fresher flavor.

grace

Costco has #10 cans of San Marzano packed in puree for under $5. I don't know if this still applies but there were lower tariffs on imported sauces that on canned produce so most San Marzano's were packed in cooked puree. Nowadays I'm less enchanted by San Marzano so it's been a while since I've purchased any.

Do the folks who like San Marzano's and think they have a brighter flavor wash off the puree first?

I have bought them in the past and don't remember an appreciable difference (either good or bad), but the logic that puree would impart a cooked taste makes sense to me - and would seem to preclude a brighter flavor if the puree is allowed to remain.

Please, enlighten me

Just checked the pantry... my brand of choice is Gia Russa. Indgredients are listed as San Marzano plum peeled tomatoes, San Marzano tomato puree, basil leaf, citric acid, salt. The cans are lined.

My use of canned tomatoes is usually limited to Italian-style sauces, and as of late, I think I use Antonious' bucatini a la matriciana recipe 90% of the time when I'm in the mood for a red sauce. It's one of the few recipes I follow exactly every time. I'm cooking them anyway, so "cooked taste" isn't an issue. I'm looking for bright, intense, tomato-ey.

I've tried Muir Glen once and thought they were somewhat bland. I remember Cento flavor was ok but had a lot of skins and seeds. Would love to hear other suggestions, as Gia Russa is $4/28 oz. can.

grace

Grace,

Give the Red Gold tomatoes a shot. I find them to have a nice clean taste.

gastro gnome wrote:Do the folks who like San Marzano's and think they have a brighter flavor wash off the puree first?

I have bought them in the past and don't remember an appreciable difference (either good or bad), but the logic that puree would impart a cooked taste makes sense to me - and would seem to preclude a brighter flavor if the puree is allowed to remain.

Please, enlighten me

i dunno. they're all cooked. the puree is just a way for them to get rid of the "bits and pieces," which are ground up and put in the can.

Do the folks who like San Marzano's and think they have a brighter flavor wash off the puree first?

I have bought them in the past and don't remember an appreciable difference (either good or bad), but the logic that puree would impart a cooked taste makes sense to me - and would seem to preclude a brighter flavor if the puree is allowed to remain.

Hmm...it's funny because sometimes I use the puree and sometimes I don't, depending on what I am cooking. I haven't noticed that using the puree lessens the flavor. If I am making a sauce where I want whole or at least pretty chunk tomatoes, I pull the tomatoes out (and crush them in my hands for a chunky sauce). Sometimes I will roast the whole tomatoes without puree. But if I am making a sauce that is more uniform in consistency or a soup, I pour out a little puree and put my stick blender into the can. Taking out some puree is so I don't make a huge mess, not for taste. Now I'm curious about this. I think a side by side comparision may be in order (puree vs. no).

I like to use 6 in 1 ground tomatoes for sauces, they don't add citric acid like most grocery store brands do so you get a more pure tomato flavor without the extra tartness.

I am also a fan of the Red Gold tomato products. I buy them because I think that they are the best of the cheaper varieties. I think that Red Gold also makes some of the generics....I have been happy with the Safeway brand, and they seem similar. I remember reading something years ago that said that Red Gold is all summer production from midwest farmers, while many of the other brands are california or florida grown. IIRC, the article also said that Ohio is the largest tomato producing state for canning and ketchup tomatoes, which I find hard to believe. I have never really felt that the imported tomatoes were worth the extra cost.

-Will

WillG wrote:I am also a fan of the Red Gold tomato products. I buy them because I think that they are the best of the cheaper varieties. I think that Red Gold also makes some of the generics....I have been happy with the Safeway brand, and they seem similar. I remember reading something years ago that said that Red Gold is all summer production from midwest farmers, while many of the other brands are california or florida grown. IIRC, the article also said that Ohio is the largest tomato producing state for canning and ketchup tomatoes, which I find hard to believe. I have never really felt that the imported tomatoes were worth the extra cost.

-Will

California produces 94% of the canning tomatoes.

http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/usda/cu ... 8-2009.pdf

I've tried several varieties in the last few weeks, and I quite like Hunt's Organic. Failing that, Red Gold. Definitely think tomatoes in juice have a brighter flavor.

WillG wrote:I remember reading something years ago that said that Red Gold is all summer production from midwest farmers, while many of the other brands are california or florida grown.

This is true. Red Gold tomatoes are canned in Indiana, so they're a local product.

Ohio wouldn't shock me, if only because of the massive tomato farms in the Leamington, Ontario area. Heinz's plant in Leamington processes about 600,000,000 pounds of tomatoes a year, bought almost exclusively from the surrounding area.

I don't know if they're buying just Ontario tomatoes or from Ohio, also, though.

Teat-
I didnt think it was possible, but it isnt even close. The interesting thing about those numbers is that Fla and Cal are equal in fresh tomatoes, but apparently Florida is not in the processing game.

-Will