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AAAAAARRRRGGGGHHH!!!! How am I supposed to go on living?! Trader Joes has discontinued
- Thread starter joe
- Start date
Joe- if I remember right, Whole Foods sells two brands of San Marzano tomatoes
I had a recipe that required two cans, so one day I bought them both and did a taste test side by side. One was positively inedible. The acid content was so high, I ended up throwing them out. Luckily I had a back up can.
The thing about Whole Foods is they'll sample both cans in the store so you don't have to bother returning one of them.
Also, one of my friends is a private chef and she swears by Muir Glen.
I had a recipe that required two cans, so one day I bought them both and did a taste test side by side. One was positively inedible. The acid content was so high, I ended up throwing them out. Luckily I had a back up can.
The thing about Whole Foods is they'll sample both cans in the store so you don't have to bother returning one of them.
Also, one of my friends is a private chef and she swears by Muir Glen.
richard-in-cincy
Well-known member
They're chopped Dawn and you would think just chopped
Did they look like this? The ones from CA are inferior to the real thing, ie, imported from Italy:
http://www.amazon.com/San-Marzano-Tomatoes-Whole/dp/B0001K5MGG/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
http://www.amazon.com/San-Marzano-Tomatoes-Whole/dp/B0001K5MGG/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
Curious sent me this article from CI. Interested, the right additives seem to do the trick
Published September 1, 2005. From Cook's Illustrated.
The worst canned tomatoes are mushy, bland, and bitter. How do you keep them out of your pantry? The clues are right on the label.
list of products tested
Cento Italian Peeled Tomatoes with Basil Leaf
Hunt's Whole Tomatoes
Muir Glen Organic Fire Roasted Whole Tomatoes
Muir Glen Organic Whole Peeled Tomatoes
Pastene Italian Peeled Tomatoes with Basil Leaf
Progresso Italian-Style Whole Peeled Tomatoes with Basil
Redpack Whole Peeled Tomatoes in Thick Puree
Rienzi Peeled Tomatoes
Sclafani Italian Peeled Tomatoes
Tuttorosso Italian-Style Peeled Plum Tomatoes with Natural Basil Flavor
Fortunately, good canned whole tomatoes always deliver better flavor than the neon-red orbs sold at the supermarket during the off-season. Unfortunately, for every can of fresh-tasting firm tomatoes with a pleasant balance of acidity and fruity sweetness, there's a disappointing tin of stale, bitter mush. The question was, is there a strategy for avoiding the bad ones?
To find out, we brought 10 brands into the test kitchen for a series of blind tastings. Tasters sampled the tomatoes straight from the can, drained and cooked simply in a quick tomato sauce, and long-simmered in a more complex sauce (undrained) with herbs and wine.
Pureed Route
The first surprising discovery was that tomato variety proved to have little to do with taster preference. While tasters found the round tomatoes milder than the plums, both types were well liked. What did make a difference was packing. Tomatoes packed in tomato puree rather than juice received negative ratings. Tomato puree, which is made by pulverizing and then cooking tomatoes, imparts a "cooked" flavor to the fresh, uncooked tomatoes packed in it; tomato juice, by contrast, is uncooked. Brands packed in puree were indicted repeatedly for metallic off-notes and "overcooked, stale" qualities, among other faults.
But there's more to the story than just puree versus juice. Tomato packers have to process hundreds of thousands of specimens, in and out of season, so they need to find ways of ensuring consistency, including the level of acidity. Consequently, most brands in our lineup include citric acid, added during processing to correct flavor-profile imbalances. Only two low-scoring brands omitted this step and tasters took notice, complaining of dull, bitter notes and overripe profiles.
None of the brands listed the amount of citric acid added, but taster comments suggested it differed vastly. The best-performing brands were praised for "refreshing, clean acidity," while lower-rated brands were consistently faulted for lack of brightness. To see what was really going on, we decided to measure the pH (an indicator of relative acidity) of every sample. Sure enough, the levels ranged from a moderately acidic pH 4.48 to a more acidic pH 3.93, and all of the better-rated brands were more acidic. (The difference between pH 4.48 and pH 3.93 is more dramatic than it looks: It means that the most acidic tomatoes in our lineup were more than three times as tart as the least acidic brand.) What was fascinating was how perfectly the pH values aligned with taster preference: Like clockwork, the top eight brands in our lineup were ranked in precise descending order from lowest pH (most acidic) to highest. The more acidic the canned tomato, the better.
Solid Judgment
The only missing piece of the puzzle was why textures differed so substantially, and (once again) we found the answers listed on the label. The top five brands contain calcium chloride, an additive manufacturers use to maintain tomato firmness. The brands without calcium chloride were indicted for mushy, mealy texture. In the raw tasting, some panelists objected to the pronounced sturdiness of those with calcium chloride. But as soon as the tomatoes were cooked, those with this additive were preferred unanimously over the ones without, which quickly lost even the meager structure they had to begin with.
Finally, because some recipes call for drained whole tomatoes, we drained one 28-ounce can of each of the brands, then weighed the solids. The results were shocking. The drained weights of our top seven brands ranged between 10.3 ounces and 12.8 ounces. But two brands in our "Not Recommended" category yielded a measly 8.8 ounces—or less! What wasn't shocking is that the drained-weight values correlated directly with the scores tasters gave each sample for "Fullness of Tomato Flavor." Less tomato meat means less tomato flavor.
So where did we come out? For canned whole tomatoes, some extra processing goes a long way toward making a better product. Let the label be your guide: Check for evidence of domestic origin, citric acid, calcium chloride, and tomato juice rather than puree.
Supermarket, Gourmet Tomatoes Face Off
Most of the tomatoes in our lineup can be purchased for less than two bucks a can. But, as with most items, a few extra dollars can get you a fancier version from the gourmet store. In the canned-tomato world, "fancy" generally means one thing: The tomatoes hail from the San Marzano region of Italy, known for its fertile soil, optimal growing climate, and rigid regional quality control (similar to that practiced for sparkling wine in the Champagne region of France).
But how do they taste? We brought in four brands of San Marzano tomatoes, plus two other "San Marzano-style" imports and made a batch of quick tomato sauce with each one. For comparison, we cooked up two more batches of our two favorite supermarket brands. In a blind tasting, panelists remained loyal to favorite supermarket brand, which beat out all the upscale brands. But two San Marzano brands did earn praise for their rich tomato flavor. That said, we still wouldn't bother spending the extra cash.
Published September 1, 2005. From Cook's Illustrated.
The worst canned tomatoes are mushy, bland, and bitter. How do you keep them out of your pantry? The clues are right on the label.
list of products tested
Cento Italian Peeled Tomatoes with Basil Leaf
Hunt's Whole Tomatoes
Muir Glen Organic Fire Roasted Whole Tomatoes
Muir Glen Organic Whole Peeled Tomatoes
Pastene Italian Peeled Tomatoes with Basil Leaf
Progresso Italian-Style Whole Peeled Tomatoes with Basil
Redpack Whole Peeled Tomatoes in Thick Puree
Rienzi Peeled Tomatoes
Sclafani Italian Peeled Tomatoes
Tuttorosso Italian-Style Peeled Plum Tomatoes with Natural Basil Flavor
Fortunately, good canned whole tomatoes always deliver better flavor than the neon-red orbs sold at the supermarket during the off-season. Unfortunately, for every can of fresh-tasting firm tomatoes with a pleasant balance of acidity and fruity sweetness, there's a disappointing tin of stale, bitter mush. The question was, is there a strategy for avoiding the bad ones?
To find out, we brought 10 brands into the test kitchen for a series of blind tastings. Tasters sampled the tomatoes straight from the can, drained and cooked simply in a quick tomato sauce, and long-simmered in a more complex sauce (undrained) with herbs and wine.
Pureed Route
The first surprising discovery was that tomato variety proved to have little to do with taster preference. While tasters found the round tomatoes milder than the plums, both types were well liked. What did make a difference was packing. Tomatoes packed in tomato puree rather than juice received negative ratings. Tomato puree, which is made by pulverizing and then cooking tomatoes, imparts a "cooked" flavor to the fresh, uncooked tomatoes packed in it; tomato juice, by contrast, is uncooked. Brands packed in puree were indicted repeatedly for metallic off-notes and "overcooked, stale" qualities, among other faults.
But there's more to the story than just puree versus juice. Tomato packers have to process hundreds of thousands of specimens, in and out of season, so they need to find ways of ensuring consistency, including the level of acidity. Consequently, most brands in our lineup include citric acid, added during processing to correct flavor-profile imbalances. Only two low-scoring brands omitted this step and tasters took notice, complaining of dull, bitter notes and overripe profiles.
None of the brands listed the amount of citric acid added, but taster comments suggested it differed vastly. The best-performing brands were praised for "refreshing, clean acidity," while lower-rated brands were consistently faulted for lack of brightness. To see what was really going on, we decided to measure the pH (an indicator of relative acidity) of every sample. Sure enough, the levels ranged from a moderately acidic pH 4.48 to a more acidic pH 3.93, and all of the better-rated brands were more acidic. (The difference between pH 4.48 and pH 3.93 is more dramatic than it looks: It means that the most acidic tomatoes in our lineup were more than three times as tart as the least acidic brand.) What was fascinating was how perfectly the pH values aligned with taster preference: Like clockwork, the top eight brands in our lineup were ranked in precise descending order from lowest pH (most acidic) to highest. The more acidic the canned tomato, the better.
Solid Judgment
The only missing piece of the puzzle was why textures differed so substantially, and (once again) we found the answers listed on the label. The top five brands contain calcium chloride, an additive manufacturers use to maintain tomato firmness. The brands without calcium chloride were indicted for mushy, mealy texture. In the raw tasting, some panelists objected to the pronounced sturdiness of those with calcium chloride. But as soon as the tomatoes were cooked, those with this additive were preferred unanimously over the ones without, which quickly lost even the meager structure they had to begin with.
Finally, because some recipes call for drained whole tomatoes, we drained one 28-ounce can of each of the brands, then weighed the solids. The results were shocking. The drained weights of our top seven brands ranged between 10.3 ounces and 12.8 ounces. But two brands in our "Not Recommended" category yielded a measly 8.8 ounces—or less! What wasn't shocking is that the drained-weight values correlated directly with the scores tasters gave each sample for "Fullness of Tomato Flavor." Less tomato meat means less tomato flavor.
So where did we come out? For canned whole tomatoes, some extra processing goes a long way toward making a better product. Let the label be your guide: Check for evidence of domestic origin, citric acid, calcium chloride, and tomato juice rather than puree.
Supermarket, Gourmet Tomatoes Face Off
Most of the tomatoes in our lineup can be purchased for less than two bucks a can. But, as with most items, a few extra dollars can get you a fancier version from the gourmet store. In the canned-tomato world, "fancy" generally means one thing: The tomatoes hail from the San Marzano region of Italy, known for its fertile soil, optimal growing climate, and rigid regional quality control (similar to that practiced for sparkling wine in the Champagne region of France).
But how do they taste? We brought in four brands of San Marzano tomatoes, plus two other "San Marzano-style" imports and made a batch of quick tomato sauce with each one. For comparison, we cooked up two more batches of our two favorite supermarket brands. In a blind tasting, panelists remained loyal to favorite supermarket brand, which beat out all the upscale brands. But two San Marzano brands did earn praise for their rich tomato flavor. That said, we still wouldn't bother spending the extra cash.