Piennolo tomatoes (Principe Borghese)

[BrickStoneOven]

I was wondering why they hang them up to dry like this

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13buMC5eE5A" target="_blank" class="aeva_link bbc_link new_win">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13buMC5eE5A</a>

? I'm going to be growing them this summer and was wondering if the pizzerias use the dried ones like in the video or if they used undried ones. Also does anyone know how long the tomatoes would dry for?

[Jet_deck]

The answer is in the other video:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dg6MIhGrao&amp;NR=1" target="_blank" class="aeva_link bbc_link new_win">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dg6MIhGrao&amp;NR=1</a>

Good find, very interesting!

[Pete-zza]

David,

Several years ago I did some research on the tomatoes used in Neapolitan pizza sauces and learned about the small tomatoes that are hung to dry, as I noted in Reply 5 at http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,1433.msg13012/topicseen.html#msg13012. I believe that it was later that I saw a Tyler Florence FoodNetwork segment where he went to Naples to see how Neapolitan pizzas were made. In that segment, my recollection is that there were scenes showing the small tomatoes hung in clusters.

Peter

[BrickStoneOven]

I missed it the first time, thanks Jet_Deck. But that only answered how long they are dried for. What is the actual reason for drying them though. Is it just for the sole purpose of preservation of the tomato so they can last months without refrigeration or does it add more flavor? He said they have a very low water content, so is it to get the water content even lower? Sorry if this sounds a little repetitive.

Thanks for the link Peter.

[Jet_deck]

Your right, it didn't say why the were stored for 3 months and then hung in clusters.
I believe that he said they had a low water requirement to grow, compared to other varieties. I bet they are super flavor packed.

[dellavecchia]

These tomatoes are used for both sun dried and fresh applications. Most of the sun dried tomatoes you find are this variety. If using for pizzas and sauce (fresh version), you clip them off the vine in clusters of 2-3 fruits, and hang them on a long loop made of string. Since the water content is so low, they will stay fresh for months in these string bunches kept in a moderate temperature inside. To use for filetti, just pick and slice. To use for sauce, where they really shine, pick and squeeze them in a bowl of water. This will get the seeds and gel out without making a mess.

David - I am growing these again this year. I will post pics of the stringing in august.

John

[BrickStoneOven]

Thanks guys. John when are you going to start growing them? I started little to early last year and the plates started to get leggy. They weren't growing that fast until I started using this fertilizer. When I get back home I'll post the brand it really work well. Even late season it worked awesome.

Edit: This is the fertilizer used for the tomatoes. http://www.americanagritech.com/fertilizers/pure-blend-pro/pure-blend-pro-bloom

[dellavecchia]

David - I just started my seeds last weekend to be put out by the end of May (8 weeks). I use a bone meal fertilizer (organic) with excellent results.

John

[andreguidon]

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CJ6nSUEPbg" target="_blank" class="aeva_link bbc_link new_win">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CJ6nSUEPbg</a>

here is a video of Enzo Coccia using the piennolo tomatoes.... there delicious, i tried them once....

[andreguidon]

just found this...
http://gustiamo.typepad.com/gustiblog/2010/09/donatella-pizza.html
http://www.gustiamo.com/cgi-bin/front_end/prodotto?id=17595

[BrickStoneOven]

Thats the same company that sells the $12 cans of San Gennaro San Marzanos.

[dellavecchia]

Thats the same company that sells the $12 cans of San Gennaro San Marzanos.

Those tomatoes in the vid are Casa Barone and are $14 a jar. They are good but not worth nearly the price they are being peddled at. They taste like good San Marzanos that cost $3-4 a can.

John

[BrickStoneOven]

Those tomatoes in the vid are Casa Barone and are $14 a jar. They are good but not worth nearly the price they are being peddled at. They taste like good San Marzanos that cost $3-4 a can.

Did you buy them online or from a store? Have you tried the San Gennaros?

[dellavecchia]

Gustiamo.com. The San Gennaros are really good, but not $12 a can good.

John

[BrickStoneOven]

The San Gennaros are really good, but not $12 a can good.

Yea I'll stick to LaRegina's.

[dellavecchia]

Yea I'll stick to LaRegina's.

Where are you getting them?

[BrickStoneOven]

http://accardifoods.com/contact.htm It's their brand tomato. They have 3 different kinds. A DOP San Marzano(green label) which is pretty good but has a good amount of water. "Italian Peeled"(dark blue label) which is packed in a thicker puree and has less water than the DOP's. I thought these were better than the DOP in flavor and consistency. They have a "Hand Picked"(light blue label) which I have't tried yet but Marc said they are really good. They also have a chopped one which is probably one of those 3 and they have a cherry tomato.

They have everything their bunch of differnt Caputo flour, KA flour, Calabro mozz, ricotta, ex, ex. They have everything, only thing that sucks is you can't walk around their warehouse. Everyone their is really nice and you don't need an account they do CC.

[StefanoGustiamo]

ciao a Tutti,
 I'm Stefano and I'm working with Gustiamo. We are the importer for the Piennolo tomatoes by Casa Barone, organic and SlowFood presidia.
I'm very happy you are talking about these unique variety of tomatoes, they are really necessary to make a original pizza!!!
I would love you can try the Piennolo. You can see the price on our web site but is a retail price.
If you send me an email I'll look for a solution for the price, maybe the wholesale price for the pizzerie.
are you a pizzeria?
I'm here, do you want to try Piennolo, email me!
let me know
ciao
Stefano