San Marzano Tomatoes

Every once in a while we come across a product worthy of sharing with you. These are things that we love to use, if you know about them, we would love to hear what you think!! San Marzano tomatoes are some of the most famous in the world. This brand is something we came across in a lovely shop in our area. Try them out for yourself!

Kelly

La Valle Tomatoes

Years ago I saw these La Valle San Marzano tomatoes on “Follow That Food”. Only thing …it was impossible to get in my area, without paying twice the cost in shipping. I finally saw these recently and bought a couple cans to see if they were really any better.

Usually I get a restaurant sized can of tomatoes at Costco (Hunt’s, I think?). I crush them by hand and remove the flower end of the tomato core. It’s good and I get a large pot of marinara out of one can.

Initial Impression:

Opened the can of La Valle tomatoes and I did notice a difference. The sauce was a rich, silky tomato puree. The broth in the other version was very watery so I’d set it aside and not add it all, so I didn’t get the sauce too watery.

The Work:

Proceeded to remove the cores and that was the second difference. The unusable part was small. When removing the cores in the Costco version,  almost 25% of the can was filled with cores. In the la Valle version, there was just a little. They didn’t even fill the bottom of the can.

Cooking:  I made a sort of chicken cacciatore, but no mushrooms, more of a chicken and peppers dish. (To be shared with you soon, stay posted!)

It was simple so you could taste the tomatoes. Just sautéed chicken, onions and mixed peppers and herbs. It came out fantastic. The tomatoes were sweet, silky and had a kind of earthy background flavor.

Overall, I thought they were great. Worth the money if you can afford it. If not use the Costco version and perhaps add a little tomato paste.

Mary