I finally got through the 6n1's and decided to open up the La Bella San Marzanos whole peel tomatoes next. I'll do a quick review of them.
I would like to say that I haven't had a lot of different brands of SMs and certainly not any authority on tomato products. I know what I like and don't like, so this is just my opinion of the product. Also it's really hard to compare tomato products fairly unless you are doing a side by side comparison. Since these are the big cans, I have no interest in opening up more than one can at a time. My comparisons are done by memory.
These are whole peeled plum Italian SM tomatoes in tomato puree. The ingredients listed are plum Italian tomatoes, basil, citric acid, and salt. On opening the can, I notice a bright red puree. I noted that the interior of the can was not lined with plastic like some other brands of SMs I've had. I tasted a spoonful of the puree and noted a good sweet tomato flavor. I was impressed that they didn't taste "tinny" at all despite the lack of the plastic interior lining. I also did not note any hint of citric acid like the Stanilaus superdolce or the Eschalon 6n1's. The tomato flavor was good but not quit as strong the SD or the 6n1s but the flavor was good. Maybe a 8/10. I also did not taste any hint of salt like I did when I tried the California San Benito whole peeled tomatoes. These were far better than the San Benito tomotoes in terms of texture and flavor.
I next fished out some of the tomatoes and noted big plum tomatoes. These were bright red and rather firm in texture. I ate one of the tomatoes and it also had the same good flavor as the puree, unlike other brands I've tried where the tomato and the puree have a distinct different flavor. I used a stick emersion blender to make a simple sauce with a bit of oregano, pinch of salt, and abit of stevia natural sweetner. The sauce was rather good. I wasn't blown away, but these tomatoes are good.
When I fished out all the whole tomatoes, there is about 1/3 can of puree left. After straining this puree out, I'm left with about 1/4 can of tomato juice. Overall, I thought this was a pretty good tomato product. I wasn't blown away but wasn't disappointed either.
As far as a value, they can't compare to the 6n1's and certainly not the SD. With the other 2, they are thicker and require a bit of dilution with water so in essence you can sauce more pies with them. In general, whole tomatoes require crushing and then straining, so they don't go quit as far.
With the leftover juice, I usually add a few ice cubes and a bit of sweetner to make a delicious tomato drink.
