Are San Marzano Tomatoes actually worth it?

[catbyte]

This is really interesting. Full disclosure: I use San Marzano tomatoes (usually Cento) for my cooking and I'm always happy with the results.

[RockRaven]

1. Here's America's Test Kitchens taste test of crushed tomatoes:

The winner was a brand which superficially looks like they are San Marzano but are really from the Northeastern US.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

5. Thanks for sharing. Interesting. Wish they had used Cento too

[intrepidity]

2. Thanks. He's like the "Project Farm" for cooking

Years ago there was an Améica's Test Kitchen episode on this topic, and I recall they came to similar concluions.

[tishaLA]

3. I aw this when he first posted it. It's a good vid

My rule of thumb is that when I'm making something that relies on tomatoes as its primary flavor, like pasta sauce or tomato soup, I get "good" tomatoes (as Ina Garten might say) like Bianco di Napoli or Cento, but when the tomato is less important, like with chana masala or something, I use "regular" tomatoes.

[usonian]

4. San Marzano is a tomato varietal and a region.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Marzano_tomato
As a varietal, big deal. They are a Roma tomato.

Description
Compared to the Roma tomato, San Marzano tomatoes are thinner and more pointed. The flesh is much thicker with fewer seeds, and the taste is stronger, sweeter, and less acidic.

The San Marzano vines are an indeterminate type vine, and have a somewhat longer season than other paste tomato varieties, making them particularly suitable for warmer climates. As is typical of heirloom plants, San Marzano is an open-pollinated variety that breeds true from generation to generation, making seed saving practical for the home gardener or farmer.

Commercial production and use
Heirloom plant conservationist Amy P. Goldman calls the San Marzano "the most important industrial tomato of the 20th century"; its commercial introduction in 1926 provided canneries with a "sturdy, flawless subject, and breeders with genes they'd be raiding for decades."

Though commercial production of the San Marzano variety is most closely associated with Italy, seeds for the variety are available worldwide.It is an heirloom variety. Canned San Marzanos, when grown in the Valle del Sarno (valley of the Sarno) in Italy in compliance with Italian law, can be classified as Pomodoro San Marzano dell'Agro Sarnese-Nocerino and have the EU "DOP" emblem on the label.

Translation of heirloom variety: It's so old that I grew them as a kid.

What Is So Special About San Marzano Tomatoes?
Should you splurge on this famed Italian food product?
https://www.marthastewart.com/7616623/san-marzano-tomatoes-explained

How Are San Marzano Different to Other Canned Tomatoes?
San Marzano is both a type of tomato and a region in Italy. The San Marzano tomato is a type of plum tomato, and it's longer and thinner than the typical plum tomato you might see sold fresh in grocery stores or buy canned. They also have fewer seeds than typical plum tomatoes. Not all canned tomatoes from Italy are San Marzano, and, to make things more confusing, San Marzano tomatoes grow outside of Italy, too. In fact, they are now also grown in the U.S., and their seeds are widely available, which means you could grow San Marzano tomatoes in your vegetable patch.

What first made American cooks seek out San Marzano tomatoes were cans of the official DOP San Marzano tomatoes, grown in a relatively small region between Naples and Salerno. DOP is the Italian abbreviation for Protected Designation of Origin, similar to the protected status of foods like Parmigiano-Reggiano and balsamic vinegar. These tomatoes were famed for their balanced flavor that combines sweetness, tomatoey intensity and just the right amount of acid.

Translation: grow 'em like I used to do. (and most Italian-Americans)


Deer eat everything here, so I don't at this time.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

6. Cento Organic San Marzano the best but pricey. Love to find anything better