Everything You Need to Know About Canned Tomatoes

Learn which canned tomatoes are worth your money, why chefs buy whole peeled rather than diced or crushed, and a new way to process the tomatoes.

Have you ever heard of San Marzano tomatoes? I’ve been reading about these legendary canned tomatoes since I was reading cooking magazines in my teens. San Marzano tomatoes from come from the eponymous region in Italy. These tomatoes are so prized that they are categorized by Italian law to have a “DOP” emblem on their cans to mark their purity. San Marzano tomatoes are renowned for being sweeter, stronger, and less acidic, as well as for having less seeds. At an average of 3x the cost of other canned tomatoes in the supermarket, surely the Italian tomato juice is worth the squeeze, right?

Wrong! It turns out I’ve been hoodwinked for years. I recently learned that every food publication I trust (Serious Eats, New York Times Cooking, and Cook’s Illustrated) ranks North American tomatoes right alongside the best of Italian whole peeled tomatoes, and in most cases much higher in quality overall. Trader' Joe’s, Target, Hunt’s, and Whole Foods outperformed any plain tomatoes (without basil) from the San Marzano region. The tomatoes were considered brighter, fresher, and sweeter tasting. The moral here? Money does not always buy you the best quality.

Interested in more useful canned tomato information? Read on:

Why Whole Peeled?

Most canned tomatoes at the store include calcium chloride as a preservative to maintain the texture of the contents. As it turns out, this addition is a little too successful in the diced tomato category. The smaller pieces are often rubbery as a result of their reaction with calcium chloride, and won’t break down at all in a recipe. Experts find their texture to be unpleasant and suggest you avoid it.

Crushed tomatoes aren’t recommended simply because they aren’t consistent. Even from can to can in the same brand they don’t carry the same amount of liquid to crushed, meaning that you have no idea how much tomato meat is actually there. If you have a little more time, it’s best to stick to whole peeled.

How Do I Get a Nice Crush on my Tomatoes?

If you haven’t already broken out a food processor for your tomatoes, then here is a special way to crush your tomatoes for a perfectly even and delicious texture.

Open your can of whole tomatoes, and separate the whole tomatoes from the liquid. Drain each of the tomatoes by opening a small slit in them, either with your hand or with a paring knife. Lastly, push your tomatoes through a cooling rack. You can combine the liquid and your solids back together— the final mixture will look like the picture below:

And there you have it! Your crushed tomatoes will have a great texture in your mouth, as well as for your eyes.

What’s your favorite use for canned tomatoes? Comment below.