Tinned or fresh tomatoes when making sauce?

[LissaC]

[Mod.Edit: posts moved to form new topic (MG)]

Growing up my family always made tomato sauce with store bought peeled tomato cans. When I grew up and started cooking for myself, I decided to make tomato sauce with fresh tomatoes, and I never went back. Until last week, I wanted to cook bolognese and bought canned peeled tomatoes because I was out of time and the cans are cheaper than the fresh tomatoes anyway. I was reminded why I switched to fresh tomatoes, the taste is completely different, I just can't bring myself to like the canned stuffed anymore.

 

[Morning Glory]

Until last week, I wanted to cook bolognese and bought canned peeled tomatoes because I was out of time and the cans are cheaper than the fresh tomatoes anyway. I was reminded why I switched to fresh tomatoes, the taste is completely different, I just can't bring myself to like the canned stuffed anymore.

That's fine if you can get top quality tomatoes, which I think you can in Portugal. Here its difficult (and hit and miss) to find good tomatoes and it works out a lot more expensive. One thing I prefer about tinned tomatoes is that they are skinned. I don't much like the way tomato skins detach themselves into the sauce if using fresh.

 

[TastyReuben]

Almost exclusively tinned tomatoes. Fresh tomatoes that are any good here are available just for a couple of months, and you have to go to the farmers markets to get them. Supermarket tomatoes here are awful 100% of the time.

 

[caseydog]

I'll be a third voice for canned tomatoes. The ones in the grocery store here have very little flavor. Texas is not a tomato growing State -- unless you grow them in your backyard with heavily amended soil.

I use canned San Marzano D.O.P. tomatoes for my sauce. They just taste better than fresh tomatoes available to me.

CD

 

[Windigo]

I use canned San Marzano, our tomatoes are called 'waterbombs' for a reason. They only see the greenhouse light and never develop full flavor because our climate doesn't allow that. Altough global warming might be changing things

 

[medtran49]

Mostly tinned, though we do make 1 sauce that uses both, about half and half. Sometimes though, I'll make a small amount using fresh for a single meal, but they are generally cooked very little to keep the freshness.

 

[LissaC]

So I'm the only one in the fresh tomatoes team here I have never bought fresh tomatoes outside of Portugal so I can't comment on diffferences in quality, but the fresh tomatoes I buy here taste sweeter than the tinned ones, the tinned ones taste more acidic, and the flavor is bolder and fuller if that makes any sense.

If I had to use a metaphor, the fresh tomatoes feel like fresh and perky spring flowers, the tinned tomatoes feel mature and heavy.

 

[rascal]

I understand regional tastes but here I'm with LissaC we grow our own and I make my own pasta sauce and freeze. I just made 5 litres tomato sauce/ ketchup. I usually get a lot but crops are not as big this years. We have our own herbs as well.
Although I use canned tomatoes in my curries, they are so cheap here, about $1 a can. We sometimes get canned Roma as well.

Russ

 

[LissaC]

I understand regional tastes but here I'm with LissaC we grow our own and I make my own pasta sauce and freeze. I just made 5 litres tomato sauce/ ketchup. I usually get a lot but crops are not as big this years. We have our own herbs as well.
Although I use canned tomatoes in my curries, they are so cheap here, about $1 a can. We sometimes get canned Roma as well.

Russ

Yes, a can of tinned tomates sell for 0,44€ here. Fresh tomatoes are 1,7€/kg.But I really don't like the taste of tinned tomatoes.

 

[caseydog]

I would love to use fresh tomatoes, but the ones sold here are like Windigo described, "water bombs." They have a lot of juice, but very little flavor. I grew my own at my last house, which had a large backyard. I had to dig out a lot of native soil, and replace it with good soil and compost. The native soil here is just not right for tomatoes. I don't have enough space for more than a small herb and pepper garden now.

CD

 

[TastyReuben]

I have never bought fresh tomatoes outside of Portugal so I can't comment on diffferences in quality

Keep in mind, "ripe" supermarket tomatoes here are pretty much green, unripened tomatoes that have been treated with ether or gasoline or something equally noxious to turn them red without ripening them, so they have a long shelf life.

Looks red, tastes green.

 

[caseydog]

Keep in mind, "ripe" supermarket tomatoes here are pretty much green, unripened tomatoes that have been treated with ether or gasoline or something equally noxious to turn them red without ripening them, so they have a long shelf life.

Looks red, tastes green.

That's ethylene gas, not gasoline. It is not a petroleum product. It's completely natural, but it still artificially ripens the tomatoes, so they lack vine ripened flavors.

CD

 

[TastyReuben]

That's ethylene gas, not gasoline. It is not a petroleum product. It's completely natural, but it still artificially ripens the tomatoes, so they lack vine ripened flavors.

CD

I think you took me a little too literally there.

 

[flyinglentris]

There are only two tomato (raw tomato) that I get in cans, tomato sauce and tomato paste.

If I want diced tomatoes, I get a tomato and dice it.

There might be third thing, tomato puree.

Sun dried tomatoes come in jars and as of late, I do not buy ketchup.

 

[medtran49]

We do make our own dried tomatoes with fresh tomatoes. Neither one of us can stand commercial dried tomatoes. I will say, however, that our dried tomatoes aren't really dried as they have to be refrigerated and/or frozen, or they will spoil and go bad.