Store Bought Cans...What Do You Prefer?

[Essen1]

Mollie Stone's here in the Bay Area had a sale of Cento 28oz/can tomatoes (all varieties).

They were 2 for $3.00. Bought 12 for 18 bucks. Couldn't help myself...

[Tscarborough]

I found some Cento cherry tomatoes yesterday and bought a couple of cans.

[scott r]

Essen, it doesn't look like you got any of the italian tomatoes (roa1 stamped on top).   If they have those too go back!   Unfortunately most of the other cento products aren't that great.   Also, cento is sneaky.   They have a product called "italian style", which fools you into thinking its the really good ones.   

[Essen1]

Essen, it doesn't look like you got any of the italian tomatoes (roa1 stamped on top).   If they have those too go back!   Unfortunately most of the other cento products aren't that great.   Also, cento is sneaky.   They have a product called "italian style", which fools you into thinking its the really good ones.   

Scotty,

I just checked and they don't have roa1 stamped on them.

I wish they had but for 3 bucks for two cans I couldn't pass that opportunity up. I have used two cans so far, hence only ten in the pic above, and they came out okay. Not the greatest, but still okay. For that price I can use them when I do little pizza projects here and there and/or use the crushed ones as a base for different pasta sauces.

Next time I'll look for the stamp. Thanks for the tip.

[scott r]

yeah, thats a great deal!   The italian (roa) stamped ones are always more than the ones pictured, so no surprise they weren't at that price point.    Also, theres no need to go above the italian tomatoes to the top of the line cento san marzanos (which are almost twice the price).   The cento's are one brand where you dont always get what you pay for.   The expensive san marzanos are not as good as the italian tomatoes (with the roa code).

[Essen1]

yeah, thats a great deal!   The italian (roa) stamped ones are always more than the ones pictured, so no surprise they weren't at that price point.    Also, theres no need to go above the italian tomatoes to the top of the line cento san marzanos (which are almost twice the price).   The cento's are one brand where you dont always get what you pay for.   The expensive san marzanos are not as good as the italian tomatoes (with the roa code).

I just checked out Cento's website and they sell the Italian Tomatoes for $2.19 per 28oz can and the ones I bought (Italian-style) at $1.49 per 28 oz can.

However, when I put in 6 cans of the Italian Tomatoes, the shipping charge alone is $26.94, plus the cost for the product...altogether $40.09!

That makes me think that my $18 + tax investment wasn't so bad afterall 

[cranky]

Sclafani is the name of the family that owns the last tomato cannery in NJ.  They have owned is since around WWII.  The Sclafani brand is a tomato brought in from CA and packed in NJ, or at least it was when I visited the plant some years ago.  They also pack the Don Pepino brand sauce there, but they are from NJ tomatoes.  The taste is very different, NJ vs CA.  No one is impressed when they look at the ingredients on the Don Pepino can, but the Jersey tomato is so superior that the flavor is excellent.

I grow my own so I don't often buy canned tomatoes and when I do there is not a lot of choice where I live.  I think Muir Glen makes a good puree and chopped tomato (in the can with the blue stripe on the bottom).  Tried the fire roasted and hated them.

[dmcavanagh]

@cranky, I'm a big fan of Sclafani tomatoes, especially their crushed tomatoes. Are you aware that there is also a Sclafani canned tomato from a company in Norwalk,CT., the Gus Sclafani Co.? I think they are two separate companies but I'm not sure

[cranky]

@cranky, I'm a big fan of Sclafani tomatoes, especially their crushed tomatoes. Are you aware that there is also a Sclafani canned tomato from a company in Norwalk,CT., the Gus Sclafani Co.? I think they are two separate companies but I'm not sure

Not aware of it.  My bet it is the same family though.  There are different grades of CA tomatoes.  I am sure that the Sclafanis are buying the best.  They are processed in CA and put into giant black bladders asceptically packed.  One bladder will load a flat bed trailer.  Then they are stored outdoors, either as paste, puree, sauce or chopped.  As the year progresses the product is gradually put in cans and shipped to grocers warehouses.  They can be trucked to a cannery anywhere.  All CA commercial tomatoes are bred for machine picking, holding up in transport in trucks to processors, and being mechanically fed into evaporators that put off 100,000 lbs of water/hour.  They also are bred to have the plant ripen tomatoes all at the same time.  Now think about a hand picked fully ripe garden tomato.  It is night and day.  If you ever tried to knock it around and truck it it would be juice before it got to the plant.  The flavor is very different also.  In Italy the processing plants are much smaller.  The tomatoes are picked and put in boxes, not shot into eight foot deep trucks.  I am not sure that the quality is better as a result of different soil, breeding, handling or all of the above.  CA is producing good tomatoes for cheap.  If you want super tasting tomato you have to pay more, because they simply cost more.  Super markets on the east coast in urban centers carry many varieties of tomatoes and the better ones are much cheaper than on the west coast.  The reason I grow tomatoes is not to save money or even get a better pizza.  It is for the love of it, the same reason people go to great lengths to find the ultimate pepperoni, or mixer.  There is no great difference in x flour over y brand.  Protein and milling is fairly similar from one to the other.   It is subtle even though some would disagree.  We do this for the fun of it.  When you make the pizza and it does not arrive from papa somebodies factory store it is satisfying not simply somewhat better..