It disappears quickly at bring-a-dish gatherings, too. The Whole Foods 365 Whole Peeled Tomatoes (about $1.80 per 28-ounce can at the time of publication) tasted notably different from their organic counterparts tomatoes. TMB studioPressure-Cooker Cajun Pork and RiceI created this recipe after returning home from a trip and finding little food in the house. Whole tomatoes are better because they have been handled less, Adams told HuffPost. The Best Canned Tomatoes For Marinara Sauce, According Chefs - HuffPost It has more oomph to it, Adams said. 1. What we like: Fresh, simple tomato flavor. We've heard it all before. We found their whole peeled tomatoesto be very acidic and strangely tart, lacking in any real sweetness. Good for: Tomato-centered sauces and other simple preparations. Not wanting any of these beauties to go to waste, we used the rest of the can that remained after tasting to make bruschetta. The team has spent months experimenting with different combinations of flavors to create a tasty, affordable beverage perfect for everyday use. This organic variety was one of two canned tomato varieties we tested that didn't contain calcium chloride as a preservative (the other was the ultra-fancy Gustarosso brand below). With few seeds, this tomato is perfect for use in sauces and other creamy dishes. Taste of HomeTurkey-Thyme Stuffed PeppersChloe, my 3-year-old, is a big fan of these healthy peppers, which have a wonderful thyme flavor. Published December 14, 2022 Save Photo: Marki Williams FYI We taste-tested nine new cans of whole peeled tomatoes against our previous two top picks. With a sodium content that would make a Pufferfish pucker, this one had us reaching for a palate cleanser before you can say "salt lick." It turns out that all-purpose stuff is really only for some purposes. The sauce was overly acidic. Put simply, every part fell flat. Back in the day,. Let's just say I'm in trouble if I show up at a get-together and they don't appear! Get Recipe So our expectations were high when we selected our can of Trader Joe's Organic Crushed Fire Roasted Tomatoesfrom the canned tomato section of the shelf. These tomatoes were exactly what our team wanted of San Marzano tomatoes: sweet without that bracing acidity. Upon taking his first bite of the Rega tomatoes, Adams said, Wow! We intentionally avoided regional supermarket-brand tomatoes, such as those sold exclusively by Safeway or Winn-Dixie, since theyre difficult to find outside the area in which theyre sold. Gabriella said, The texture isnt great, and the tomatoes are watery and chunky. Some of us also detected a slight tinny flavor, which was off-putting. Taste of Home is America's #1 cooking magazine. Darlene Morris, Franklinton, LouisianaGo to Recipe. Our winning canned tomato brand is Bianco DiNapoli. Taste of HomeOven-Baked Shrimp & GritsOn chilly days, I doctor up grits and top them with shrimp for a comfy meal. I would splurge an extra buck on something with more consistency and flavor.". Top with anything you like! April 16, 2018 We've heard it all before. Its versatile and easyno wonder its a longtime family favorite. What makes this variety so special? For the most part, I use Pomi tomato sauce, made from 100% fresh Italian tomatoes. Marguerite said, They have a pleasant sweetness and a clean tomato flavor. When made into a sauce, the tomatoes were quite buttery, but a bit too tart. Bread, saltine crackers, and sparkling water helped our testers to clear their palates between tastings. San Marzanos grown in this region are "true" San Marzanos. I particularly love enjoying this warm, flavorful bowl of Vietnamese chicken soup on laid-back weekends, but it's also great packed in a Thermos for lunch. People have strong opinions about Whole Foods, and whether you love them or hate them, they certainly have made a name for themselves in the way of high quality, healthfully superior grocery items. When you really dive in, the world of canned tomatoes can be a confusing one. (For an explanation of why we avoided regional brands and stuck to cans that could be found throughout the country, read How we picked and tested. This one's filled with easy-to-find ingredients and is done before you know it. San Marzano is both a type of tomato and a region in Italy. Providing a pleasantly meaty texture, without being crunchy, these whole peeled tomatoeshad a pleasant mouth-feel, perfectly peeled smoothness, and bright, balanced flavor. Sara wrote that the raw tomatoes smelled like bonesthat whiff you get when walking through the woods when you know youre passing a dead animal. They were acidic, not too sweet, and had a pleasant tomato flavor. Great British Chefs Reply . At DiAnoias, we use them in our house marinara sauce and for braising different meats for pasta dishes. Dave Anoia, chef and owner of DiAnoias Eatery in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, My first choice has always been Mutti because they have consistently great taste each tomato remains remarkably fragrant and naturally sweet. Vietnamese Chicken Meatball Soup with Bok ChoyThroughout Vietnam there are many kinds of soups, canh, served all year long. We recommend our users to update the browser. Apparently, we've been missing out. For a variation, I make Beef & Bean burritos by mixing a can of refried beans into 3 or 4 cups of cooked beef filling. We pitted store-bought varieties of canned whole tomatoes (including San Marzanos and plain old plum tomatoes) against each other in a blind taste test. From Good and Gather's full line of tomato products, we chose the crushed tomatoes, and they came in surprisingly high-ish on our list. They won us over with their perfectly ripened jammy sweetness and tart acidity. When tasting these tomatoes raw, Marguerite detected a papaya note, and multiple testers found the tomatoes to be a bit stringy. But is the San Marzano reputation more hype than fact? Chipotle Mac & CheeseBeefy and bubbly, this southwestern pasta bake heats up the dinner with a chipotle-pepper kick. To help narrow things down, we asked some expert chefs to share their go-to brands, both in their restaurants and at home. If you buy something through our retail links, we may earn a small affiliate commission. While most of the brands discussed here offer several different products, we tested and ranked these brands by sampling one product at random from each brand. (Note: In some parts of the country Redpack is sold as Red Gold. When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. Allison Gapinski, Cary, North CarolinaGo to Recipe Sam loved that this variety was sweeter than some of the others, but sort of a nice jammy sweetness. Aside from being the best canned tomatoes we tried, these were also the cheapest. This was not very tomatoey and its clumpy. They have a nice balance of sweetness and acidity, with a strong tomato flavor. The texture was lovely as well, a well balanced blend of tomato pieces to puree. Denise Warner, Red Lodge, MontanaGo to Recipe During each round of testing, we evaluated the sweetness, acidity, texture, color, flavor, and overall appearance of the canned tomatoes. It's the perfect bok choy soup, too! It's a classic example of Albert Einstein's old idea that the more you learn, the less you know, and San Merican tomatoes contribute a lot to that confusion. "Nope. The Amazon Brand Happy Belly Whole Peeled Tomatoes (about $2 per 28-ounce can at the time of publication) had a bright and fresh taste when eaten raw. The addition of dried Italian seasoning overpowered the flavor of the tomatoes and the sauce, flooding the kitchen with the smell of oregano. The brand offers many canned tomato products, including whole peeled tomatoes, puree, paste, and even pizza sauce. Unfortunately, the reason for the foul taste couldn't be attributed to the expiration date. It's hard to find someone who hasn't been drawn in by Target's sultry siren call. Another familiar and recognizable brand, Pomi tomato products are very easy to find in most grocery stores. Ropreco Paste Don't be fooled. There's no denying that Walmart is an absolute Goliath of the retail world. Wirecutter supervising editor Marilyn Ong wrote, This sauce is really deliciouscomplex, layered, and cohesive, while editor Gabriella Gershenson said, The tomato has a nice creamy textureits easy to cut with a spoon. Marguerite jotted down that, overall, this sauce is thick and sweet with some tartness that really punches through., Mutti Whole Peeled Tomatoes (about $5.15 per 28-ounce can at the time of publication). Taste of HomeHealthy Turkey ChiliI've taken my mother's healthy turkey chili recipe and made it thicker and more robust. Its like mineral-y, but it doesnt taste like the can. The crispy onions on top add a delectable crunch. Passata Tomato puree A sweet velvety passata made from sun-ripened Italian tomatoes. San Marzano tomatoes are slightly sweet, not too acidic and lend themselves well to flavors like basil and oregano which youll find in this marinara recipe. The area around Mount Vesuvius is one of the best places in the world to grow tomatoes, as they benefit from the Mediterranean climate and the mineral-rich soil. Back in the day, hunting down a can of them took time and effort; nowadays, you'll find a few different varieties on the shelves in most supermarkets. The Mutti tomatoes just taste better. This Hungarian cabbage rolls recipe is one of my favorites.Katherine Stefanovich, Desert Hot Springs, CaliforniaGo to Recipe Curry Chicken and RiceI updated this chicken and rice dish by adding veggies and cashews to give it fresh and crunchy appeal. Our testers wrote their notes down before discussing their thoughts as a group so no one would be influenced by others opinions. One Amazon reviewer writes "After trying several other brands, Red Pack is all I will use to make the best sauce ever!" What's more, they're actually grown in Italy, in the Valle de Sarno region, the only place where San Marzano tomatoes can earn the coveted "Pomodoro S. Marzano dell'Agro Sarnese-Nocerino" label and meet the E.U. Since they are . Roxanne Chan, Albany, CaliforniaGo to Recipe Good for: Simple preparations, sauces, all types of cuisines. Hope Wasylenki, Gahanna, OhioGo to Recipe After all, San Marzanos are famous for their sweetness and their tomato-ey intensity, plus a delicate acidity that can balance out rich meats and cheeses. These are good tomatoes but they have a strange flavor. If youre browsing canned tomatoes in the store, its helpful to be familiar with a few terms and ingredients: Ive enlisted various palates for this brand-concealed taste test over the years, including a few members of the NYT Cooking team (writers Julia Moskin and Ligaya Mishan and editors Sara Bonisteel and Alexa Weibel) as well as colleagues from Wirecutters kitchen and appliance teams (editors Marguerite Preston, Marilyn Ong, Winnie Yang, and Gabriella Gershenson). Even setting aside the label, as soon as I opened the can, I could tell these these tomatoes were different. Jerri Gradert, Lincoln, Nebraska Go to Recipe Epicurious may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. We also spent some time examining ingredients and labels. Denise Klibert, Shreveport, LouisianaGo to Recipe To date, weve assessed over 25 different cans of whole peeled tomatoessome with our colleagues at NYT Cookingto find the best. Buy It. Watery, essentially flavorless, and overly salty, these tomatoes were lackluster in just about every area we tested flavor, texture, salt and acidity content. to do a blind taste test of 10 popular canned tomato brands. Our former top picks remain the same, but. Unfortunately, their canned tomatoes are, in fact, a miss. Angela Spengler, Niceville, FloridaGo to Recipe GUSTAROSSO POMODORO S. MARZANO DELL'AGRO SARNESE-NOCERINO D.O.P. The biggest compliment our Test Kitchen can give to a packaged product is to call italmost homemade (our pros know the difference between purchased and from scratch). Janice Steinmetz, Somers, ConnecticutGo to Recipe Worthy of their coveted label, the Cento whole cherry tomatoeswe tried were delicious. DOP San Marzanos are thought to be the Ferraris of tomatoes but, Adams said, You go outside of the border of where San Marzanos are grown, and they still grow pretty good tomatoes..