finding 6 in 1 alternative in Canada

[artellan]

My normal pizza sauce is something like the following:
- 1 can basic / store brand pizza sauce (~200 mL)
- 1 can basic / store brand tomato paste (~150 mL)
- ~2 tsp. oregano, 1/2 tsp basil
- ~2 tsp olive oil
- crushed red pepper to taste (unfortunately to my wife's taste, I would use more :-P)

I'm looking to improve my sauce and I notice that a lot of people use something called "6 in 1" tomatoes which I've never seen in Canada. What should I look for as an alternative? I'm not even sure what "ground tomatoes" means.

Here is a sample of products that I can probably find in my area: http://www.unico.ca/listproducts.php?id=4
Do I want to use perhaps the "Premium San Marzano Type Tomatoes" (notice it does packed in puree in script on the can) or perhaps the "Premium Diced Tomatoes/Puree"?

Do people usually cook their 6 in 1 based sauce lightly ahead of time, or use it directly? Any other suggestions for improvements based on my above usual recipe?
Also technique, I usually spoon it on but perhaps for NY-style pies I should be using a pastry brush?

Thanks very much, and sorry if this has been answered previously.
- Mike

[jonesyb]

I would like to also know what is the nearest 6 in 1 alternative in the UK.

[chickenparm]

Hey folks,I opened up a can of 6 in 1's tonight to store away some,and make a custom sauce with 28 oz of some,and I took some pictures when I seen this post.

I put the rest into other containers in the fridge to save for later.I have no idea how to make an alternative at home,but I hope the pics can help you all out a little bit.

Its a bit chunky,with sometimes too many tomato peel bits, but without being heavy chunky with tomato chunks..thats the best way I can describe it.Also,the smell when you open a can,WOW,I have never had any can smell this nice of tomatoes,it fills the air in the kitchen.It really is a nice smell and the brightness of the sauce is excellent.I dont know if the pics can do it justice.

If you ate this out of the can,you may find that it has a bit too many bits/tiny skins from the tomatoes,which is also a reason I think its a bit on the chunky side,but the heavy puree does balance it out somewhat.

When I had this on a pizza,I did not notice the the small bits anymore,I think since the cheese,crust and toppings prevent that.

Heres the link to the pics.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2115760&id=1220593903

[Matthew]

I'm looking to improve my sauce and I notice that a lot of people use something called "6 in 1" tomatoes which I've never seen in Canada. - Mike

Mike,
You can order right from Escalon; they ship to Canada. Shipping is only a couple of bucks.

Matt

[artellan]

Hi Matthew
I just checked the Escalon site and it says "NOTE:  Escalon only ships to the continental United States."
https://www.escalon.net/shop.aspx

I'm actually going to be in Grand Forks, ND next week (it's only a 2.5 hour drive from Winnipeg) ... so I will check Super Target and maybe Wal-Mart, and cross my fingers. I can also check other local grocery stores there if I get the chance.

@chickenparm
Thanks for the great description of 6 in 1s. Sorry I cannot access facebook from this computer (it's my work laptop) ... I will try later.
I just remembered that my wife had frozen some of our garden tomatoes that we grew last summer, she says blanched them quickly before freezing. Those were fantastic when fresh, so maybe I will try making my next sauce from them. Time to go freezer-delving!

Thanks
Mike

[Matthew]

Hi Matthew
I just checked the Escalon site and it says "NOTE:  Escalon only ships to the continental United States."
https://www.escalon.net/shop.aspx

Mike

Don't worry about it, include your complete address including city, province & postal code in the address field & leave the state as Alabama & they'll ship you the order.

Matt

[jonesyb]

chickenparm, you've posted links to pictures on Facebook a couple of times and I can't get on them. Just throws up the error 'This content is currently unavailable'

[chickenparm]

Folks,

I'm sorry if the links do not work for some of you.According to FB,It says I can share them with anyone but it does not always work.Did you try to copy and paste the link and add it to your web browser?That may work sometimes.

Aside from that,I wish this forum was able to resize the pics for me.I am a member of other forums and they can do it with ease and I can post FB pics there anytime.This one can't.

I will try and figure out how to post some more pics soon.Sorry for the problems some of you may have had.A while back I kept trying to load pics here and it kept saying here they were too large.This forum has an old design I think.

[chickenparm]

Folks,try this link and let me know if it works.


http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2115760&id=1220593903&l=de2295ba4c

I came back to check the link and
I got an error code on these as well saying they are working on the problem.I don't know whats going on.If I am logged into FB it works though,but that should not matter,its a web link.

I will see what I can do...sorry for the trouble.

[artellan]

That link worked. Thanks for going to the trouble of showing how thick and slightly chunky they are. I can see how 6 in 1 would be good on pizza!

Cheers

[chickenparm]

Here is another link I made tonight,in case a few cannot see it,Please let me know if it works or not.

http://s1237.photobucket.com/albums/ff479/BillsPizza86/

[jonesyb]

Thank you for posting those photos. It is interesting to know what goes in to those tomatoes. Would love to get some in the UK.

[dmcavanagh]

I wish someone from Heinz, the parent company of Escalon (6 in 1 ) products would read these posts and take steps to get 6 in 1 into greater distribution. Trying to find them on grocery shelves is like a treasure hunt. I know they are available more readily out west, but in the northeast they are tough to find. An odd situation since Heinz is located in Pittsburgh. Mail order is costly and a PIA . Please Heinz, get these into greater distribution, you have a willing and eager audience.

[dmcavanagh]

Just for the hell of it, I e-mailed Heinz and inquired about making 6 in 1 more widely available on the retail level. If and when I get a response I will pass it along. I mentioned that they have a big audience at pizzamaking.com, and are missing a big audience by not making their product more easily available to the comsumer. If you're a 6 in 1 fan who has trouble getting them, feel free to drop Heinz an e-mail.

[jonesyb]

Heinz is a big brand in the UK too. I can't see them start stocking them here any time soon though.