San Marzano tomatoes are the famous plum tomatoes from the Campania region of Italy. They are known for being the best sauce tomatoes in the world. At our 43eleven Italian store, we used to sell (a lot) of the La Valle brand. But when I was in Bay Cities Deli in Santa Monica I noticed a few brands I have not tried. So I decided to test out three different kinds.Courtney and I made three different batches of basic tomato sauce with each brand and tried them side-by-side. We stuck with the Mario Batali recipe for basic tomato sauce which is a great all-purpose recipe. We always buy whole tomatoes (all of these come in tomato puree with a little basil in them) and then use a potato masher to make a chunky sauce.
Here are our notes:
1. All three of these brands were Italian tomatoes - there is a very popular brand in the supermarkets with Italian writing and look but are of domestic origin. Not that that makes them unacceptable - I didn't try them - but it is somewhat decieving, so read the label to make sure they are from Italy.
2. Most Italian San Marzano labled tomatoes are not neccisarily from the San Marzano area. Only the ones with DOP certification are the original, authentic San Marzanos grown in the shadow of Mt. Vesuvius in volcanic soils. That also doesn't mean the others are not good, usualy it means they use the same type of plum tomato that is known as San Marzano, but the DOP lets you know the origin and quality control. Only one of the brands we tried was DOP.
3. We tried them first right out of the can and then in the sauce. All of the ones we tried were very good. The differences were noticeable but relatively minor.
La Bella San Marzano -- $3.98
Very nice, lighter in overall flavor, more natural acidity.
Coluccio San Marzano D.O.P. -- $6.49
Very rich, the most balance between sweet and acidic, the sauce had a more lasting flavor.
La Valle San Marzano -- $2.98
The sweetest of the three, nice, rich.
The overall winner of the bunch was the DOP. But both others were very good, and at the price, I probably would use the DOP only when the sauce is kept simple and served with nice pasta or with vegetables.
We have a lot of sauce left over, we used a blender for part of the leftovers and added a touch of milk to make a smoother, creamier version. And you can always use the basic sauce and turn it into a meat sauce, or a Puttenesca sauce (add black olives, anchovies, capers, and red chilis).
Bon Appetito!
